In the months toward the end of 2020 and the aftermath, Michael Francis of Citi Wealth was as busy as ever in an aviation career spanning two decades. After months of being confined at home, high net worth individuals were keen to fly – and in a private jet if possible.
It is easy to see why. Even before Covid, the hassles of large airports, uneven transportation links to and from airports, security checks and delays combined to make commercial flying a grim experience. The glamor of foreign or domestic jet travel belongs in post-war adverts. It is a fading image.
But whatever else wealth brings, it can create options and freedoms – even a bit of that old glamor.
Francis told FWR recently that the 2020-22 period was a busy – “crazy” time for him and his colleagues. The business environment has calmed down since then.
Michael Francis
“My customers not only look to us for bespoke loans…now they also come to our private bank for advice. The better we can advise our customers about an airplane, the more it de-risks a deal,” Francis said.
The business of borrowing to finance a jet – using the aircraft as collateral – is an important business line for Citigroup. The aircraft financing business is an example of how the wealth side of the organization dovetails with its commercial and investment banking elements.
Growth figures for private jet business remain robust. The global private aircraft market size is slated to be worth about $80.8 billion by 2034, equating to a compound annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent from today . According to a 2024 report by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, the sector has been on an “amazing six-year run-up”; business aviation activity reached a recent high level and is settling in for a “prolonged period of steady growth.” The annual report said aircraft manufacturers expect to deliver 830 new business jets valued at $27 billion in 2025.
Besides Citigroup, other banks in the sector for loans on private planes include US Bank and JP Morgan Private Bank.
As this news service has noted before, as in this profile of Europe’s Airbus and its business jets division, or here, the health of this sector can be a barometer for wealth managers and advisors to track. It sheds light on how HNW people feel; what their appetite for risk and experiences are, and how much they’re willing to spend on comfort and avoiding problems.
A passion for aircraft
Francis joined Citi Wealth in January, having previously worked as a managing director at SVB Private Wealth/First Citizens Wealth, and before this, held senior jobs at First Republic Bank, 1st Source Bank and CIT Bank. He also handled aviation issues for a large family office. As part of his background, Francis obtained a bachelor of applied science – BASc, aviation management and an MBA. Skills on his Linkedin profile include those of "pilot." Flying since his high school days, Francis now “flies a desk." It’s clear that he loves aviation and brings that zest for the sector to the job.
And hands-on experience of aircraft is something that cannot be faked, and part of the value-add that Citi Wealth seeks to promote to its clients, he said. If an aviation owner – or potential one – is talking to the corporate side of Citigroup, Francis can pick up a call, set up a virtual/real meeting and be the go-to expert.
The loans environment
Part of what Francis does is frame clients' expectations about what sort of loans are viable or not. The decade-plus of ultra-low US interest rates is long gone. Another change is that people are, in his experience, much savvier about aviation finance than was once the case.
“There is a lot more knowledge among our customers in deciding what to buy and use than there was 10 or 15 years ago. There are more private sources out there,” he said. Loans for aircraft typically run from 60 to 84 months, usually with a balloon payment due at the end of the loan term.
“Rates in this sector are quite compelling. Especially when compared to what an aircraft owner can earn by reinvesting the capital which would otherwise be tied up in their plane into their business or other appreciating asset, makes borrowing against a depreciating asset like a private jet very compelling,” he said. “Closing costs typically consist of an upfront loan fee, as well as pass through legal and inspection costs.”
“We are very bullish on the space…it is a very safe one for our shareholders,” Francis said.
The “wealth management” side of the Citi Wealth offering is part of the recipe, he said. Citi Wealth goes beyond the mechanics of an aircraft loan and works with clients to figure out if buying an aircraft makes sense or not, and for the client to understand how having a plane sits on their balance sheet. Not everyone who could afford a plane needs to have one. “For every loan I have arranged, I have also convinced a customer that they don’t need a plane,” Francis said.
There is a need, in other words, for a trusted advisor to wealthy clients to help them avoid making costly mistakes.
The market is busy. To give one example, Flexjet, a private aviation firm, said in July that it had closed an $800 million equity investment.
This is a global sector, and the US, Brazil and Asia-Pacific are strong markets. Francis said he visited Brazil this year and is due to visit Singapore and Hong Kong in the fall as part of his job. Perhaps fittingly, Francis spends a fair amount of time up in the air.