Maintenance Reserves and Accrued Maintenance Costs

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Maintenance Reserves and Accrued Maintenance Costs [Abstract]

Maintenance Reserves and Accrued Maintenance Costs

4.Maintenance Reserves and Accrued Maintenance Costs

Maintenance costs under the Company's triple net leases are generally the responsibility of the lessees.  Most of the Company's leases require payment of maintenance reserves, which are based upon lessee-reported usage and billed monthly, and are intended to accumulate and be applied by the Company toward reimbursement of most or all of the cost of the lessees' performance of certain maintenance obligations under the leases. Such reimbursements reduce the associated maintenance reserve liability.

Maintenance reserves are characterized as either refundable or non-refundable depending on their disposition at lease-end.  The Company retains non-refundable maintenance reserves at lease-end, even if the lessee has met all of its obligations under the lease, including any return conditions applicable to the leased asset, while refundable reserves are returned to the lessee under such circumstances.  Any reserves retained by the Company at lease end are recorded as revenue at that time.

Accrued maintenance costs include (i) maintenance for work performed for off-lease aircraft, which is not related to the release of reserves received from lessees and (ii) lessor maintenance obligations assumed upon acquisition of aircraft subject to a lease with such provisions.  Maintenance costs are expensed as incurred.