Leasing is biiiig business.
In the above example, the lessor makes a buck: - from the rental payments; from any tax loss between what they bought it for and the value they can get for it at the end of the lease period (residual value). Keep in mind they've also been depreciating the asset along the way.
Even better if you can borrow the funds from a bank with some sort of export-credit agency guarantee behind you - so you're essentially a AAA-rated borrower.
Here is a presentation by EADS called "The Anatomy of Aircraft Financing".