Originally Posted by
procede
$1 m a month sounds like a long term financial lease. Ironically, it is actually easier (and cheaper) to get rid of owned aircraft than leased aircraft (under normal economic circumstances). Owned aircraft you can just sell, leased aircraft require all sorts of negotiation and legal work, especially if the lease has not expired yet... Even when the lease term is over, there are lots of loopholes to jump through.
Right now, whoever had their engines under power-by-hour is laughing their way to the bank. Or well, probably the rest of plane is still under monthly lease, so it's more like they cry somewhat less than their competitors...