KBRA Upgrades Ratings for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd.
20 Mar 2026 | New York
KBRA upgrades the issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to A- from BBB+ for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd. (“DAE” or “the company”). The Outlook is revised to Stable from Positive.
Key Credit Considerations
The rating upgrade reflects DAE’s expanding franchise and market share, improved fleet and customer diversification, and increased visibility into future growth with a large aircraft orderbook pro-forma for DAE’s planned acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance Limited (“MAF”) announced in February 2026 and expected to close in the second half of 2026. The combined company will have a pro-forma fleet of 1,029 owned, managed, and committed aircraft, making DAE the third largest lessor globally (by delivered aircraft) while adding a sizable orderbook. In addition to scale benefits, the transaction will increase customer diversification and will be prudently funded with a combination of debt and equity from DAE’s shareholders. The rating upgrade also considers DAE’s shift to a largely unsecured funding profile which improves funding flexibility; unsecured debt represented 88% of total debt at YE25, up from 57% at YE19.
DAE’s ratings are supported by the company’s strong market position, established franchise and track record, experienced management team and quality and diverse fleet with future growth visibility supported by a narrow-body focused orderbook. The ratings also reflect contracted lease revenue with a diversified high-quality lessee base and strong capital and liquidity profiles maintained through recent industry disruptions. DAE has demonstrated consistent access to diversified funding sources through market disruptions and is focused on unsecured debt funding, maintaining significant unencumbered assets.
As of YE25, leverage (debt-to-equity) remained moderate at 2.8x (2.6x net debt-to-equity) within DAE’s target 2.5x-3.0x range and available liquidity remained strong at $3.4 billion, comprised of undrawn committed borrowing capacity and unrestricted cash. DAE targets maintaining available liquidity sized to cover debt maturities in the next 12 months by 2x and support fleet growth.
These strengths are balanced by the cyclical nature of the industry and exposure to event risk that could impact travel demand and orderbook placement risk that must be managed. While the ongoing airspace restrictions and elevated fuel costs resulting from the Middle East conflict could have negative impacts on airlines’ financial health, the impact on DAE is expected to be manageable considering the company’s proven track record in managing restructurings and transitioning aircraft and the supportive aircraft supply-demand environment. Positively, DAE benefits from a diversified portfolio with overall manageable exposure to the most severely impacted lessees in the Middle East (representing c. 12% of DAE’s fleet value) which are largely government-owned flag carriers.
The Stable Outlook reflects a diversified portfolio and strong capital and liquidity metrics. In KBRA’s view, DAE is well-positioned to manage through the impacts of industry disruptions given its strong capital base, solid liquidity, and demonstrated access to funding even through the severe pandemic-driven downturn.
The senior unsecured debt rating is the same as the issuer rating, reflecting adequate coverage of unsecured debt by unencumbered assets net book value (1.4x coverage at YE25) which supports unsecured debt recovery prospects.
Rating Sensitivities
The rating Outlook is Stable; therefore, a rating upgrade in the near-term is not expected. Factors that could positively impact the rating over time include sustained demonstration of strong earnings metrics, significant market share growth, successful management of orderbook placement and continued improved customer diversity, while sustaining leverage at or below the low-end of DAE’s target range (2.5x-3.0x debt-to-equity) and maintaining a strong liquidity profile.
The Outlook could be revised to Negative or the ratings could be downgraded if global passenger air traffic declines significantly and leads to increases in delinquencies, defaults and/or impairments, or a decline in funding availability with significant negative impacts on the company’s profitability, capital and/or liquidity metrics. A significant increase in asset encumbrance with an increase in secured debt as a percentage of total debt could also lead to negative rating action. A significant change in ownership with reduced benefits from Investment Corporation of Dubai ownership could result in a rating downgrade.
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