How does a "wet lease" work in the world of aviation?

Question

Often times you will see an airline that "wet leases" an aircraft from another company. Like a form or type of rental agreement? Thanks.

Answer 1

A "wet lease" is one in which the aircraft is operated by the owning company, performing flights for the leasing one. A "dry lease" is one where the owner basically hands the keys to the lessor and has nothing to do with the details of how its used.

While this may sound like a minor detail (and it would be for, say, cars), for aircraft and airlines there are issues of maintenance, training, and certification to consider. If you dry lease and aircraft, you are responsible for everything: pilots, maintenance, documentation, etc.. With wet leasing, you get the aircraft, pilots to fly it, full maintenance, and so on.

So if, for example, you are an airline that operates a lot of Boeing 737s, and you need an extra airplane for a while until your own new plane arrives from Boeing, you may dry lease one and treat it like your existing fleet. But if you only operate 737s, and suddenly get a job that needs a 747 for a few months, then the cost of training pilots and mechanics etc for the 747 is prohibitive, so you just wet lease a 747 and crew.

Note that wet leasing need not include the cabin crew (flight attendants), because training cabin crew takes about a week, and they are the staff that the customer sees. But in many cases (e.g. the "Hajj" flights) the leasing company just wants seats to sell, without worrying about details.

Answer 2

Do these answers help?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AixBt965YPg4a.P8TOfqLrhNxgt.?qid=20070319184647AAjURcg

Answer 3

you getting the plane and includes the fuel too..