The commercial aviation industry is generally improving as demand for
newer, fuel efficient, technologically advanced aircraft will continue
to be a key driver of airline growth, says C.
Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation
Finance, CIT
Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) cit.com,
a global leader in transportation finance. Knittel discusses his outlook
for the commercial aviation industry and market trends in Commercial
Aviation Industry Outlook (cit.com/aerospacespotlight), the latest
in a series of in-depth executive Q&As featured on CIT?s
Executive Spotlight series (cit.com/executivespotlight).
C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT Group Inc.(Photo: Business Wire)
In discussing his 2012 outlook for the commercial aviation industry,
Knittel comments, ?So far, the European sovereign debt crisis does not
appear to be significantly affecting overall passenger traffic in
Europe, although we?ve heard of some weakness in internal traffic of the
most affected countries. We expect this to remain the same in 2012?. And
while the industry will continue to be influenced by market-driven
events, it will manage through these inflection points as it has in the
past.?
Emerging markets, like Latin America, continue to provide opportunity
for growth in the commercial aviation industry, Knittel adds, ?We?ve
been impressed with the development of the airline industry in Latin
America over the past several years and view the growth opportunities in
this market to be promising.?
Additionally, Knittel anticipates continued evolution of the Low Cost
Carrier (LCC) model, ?We think the LCC model will continue to evolve
into a more ancillary revenue model?. With lots of short haul
passengers, airlines can sell an array of unbundled services to a much
larger pool of potential passengers than long haul operators. Similar to
full service carriers, the sector will always be looking for ways to
conserve capital, and this really is where lessors bring real value to
airlines.?
EDITOR?S NOTE:
Individuals can download a free copy of CIT
Aerospace?s 2011 Global Aerospace Outlook: Challenges of an
Ever-Changing Industry at cit.com/aerospaceoutlook.
Individuals interested in receiving future updates on CIT via e-mail can
register at http://newsalerts.cit.com.
About CIT Aerospace
CIT Aerospace provides financing
solutions to a broad spectrum of the global aerospace value chain,
ranging from operators of commercial and business aircraft to
manufacturers and suppliers in the aerospace and defense industries, as
well as financial institutions. CIT owns or finances a fleet of
approximately 300 commercial aircraft. cit.com/aerospace
About CIT
Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a bank holding
company with more than $34 billion in financing and leasing assets. A
member of the Fortune 500, it provides financing and leasing capital to
its more than one million small business and middle market clients and
their customers across more than 30 industries. CIT maintains leadership
positions in small
business and middle
market lending, factoring,
retail
finance, aerospace,
equipment and rail
leasing, and global
vendor finance. cit.com
Photos/Multimedia?Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50075052&lang=en
