Dry lease.
A dry lease is an arrangement in which an aircraft is leased without crew, and the lessee provides its own crew and maintenance and holds operational control. Dry leases are used by airlines leasing from financiers and, in business aviation, by owners placing aircraft with operators and by fractional programmes. A dry lease alone does not permit commercial charter.
| Term | Dry lease |
|---|---|
| Used in | Private aviation, charter brokerage and operations |
| Related terms | Wet lease, Aircraft operator, Fractional ownership, FAA Part 91 |
| Sources | 2 listed below |
What does Dry lease mean in practice?
Dry leasing is how many charter aircraft come to be on an operator's certificate.
A private owner buys a jet, dry-leases it to a charter operator, and the operator adds it to its AOC, crews it, maintains it and sells charter on it when the owner is not using it. That is a normal and legal structure. Airline dry leases from lessors typically run beyond two years; business aviation arrangements vary. Where dry leases go wrong is when they are used to disguise illegal charter. If someone dry-leases you an aircraft and then separately supplies the pilots, so that you are notionally the operator, regulators in the United States and Europe may treat the whole arrangement as an unlicensed commercial flight. The signs are an unusually cheap price, a pilot services agreement separate from the aircraft lease, and no named AOC holder. Reputable brokers do not arrange flights this way.
Questions
What does Dry lease mean?
A dry lease is an arrangement in which an aircraft is leased without crew, and the lessee provides its own crew and maintenance and holds operational control. Dry leases are used by airlines leasing from financiers and, in business aviation, by owners placing aircraft with operators and by fractional programmes. A dry lease alone does not permit commercial charter.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Aircraft lease (accessed 2026-09-20)
- 14 CFR 91.1001 Fractional ownership definitions (Cornell LII) (accessed 2026-09-20)
Last reviewed 20 September 2026 by Empty Leg Exclusive Editorial Team.