Matthew Pawlak’s practice focuses on complex aviation transactions, working across lease, financing and sale documentation to deliver commercially workable solutions for lessors, investors, operators and financial institutions.
Matthew advises leasing companies, investors, airlines and financial institutions on a broad range of aviation finance transactions, including sale and leasebacks, portfolio trades, operating leases, insurance-backed financings, and secured lending structures. He works closely with clients to structure and execute transactions that balance asset and credit risk with the commercial objectives of the deal.
Representative Experience
- Acted for a leading aircraft lessor on a series of Japanese operating lease (“JOL”) financings, including Balthazar and Itasca-backed structures, concerning sale and leaseback transactions with airlines across Europe, the Middle East and North America.
- Represented a group of ad hoc creditors on the restructuring of debt and security arrangements relating to a portfolio of over 260 aircraft as part of Nordic Aviation Capital’s landmark $6 billion restructuring.
- Advised for a Japanese leasing company on the disposal of two mid-life aircraft to private credit-backed U.S.-based purchasers, requiring the transfer and restructuring of leases to airlines in the Asia-Pacific region.
View More
- Advised an aircraft lessor on a limited recourse financing provided by PK AirFinance for the acquisition of five new Pratt & Whitney PW1133GA-JM engines as part of a sale-and-leaseback transaction with Cebu Pacific.
- Acted for a major aircraft lessor on the negotiation of operating leases for mid-life aircraft with two low-cost carriers in Europe and Africa, establishing the first leasing relationships between the client and each airline.
- Advised a leading aircraft lease arranger on multiple Japanese operating lease (JOL) financings involving CACIB, Natixis, Société Générale and other lenders, supporting aircraft leased to airlines including Wizz Air, Finnair and Frontier.
- Advised a major aircraft lessor on the financing of its acquisition of an Airbus A350-900 aircraft in a sale-and-leaseback transaction with Air France, involving a co-ownership structure and debt financing provided by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
- Advised an aircraft lessor on the sale of a 2014-vintage Airbus A320 to Arcano Partners, requiring the novation of the existing operating lease to Wizz Air and the replacement of related lease documentation.
- Acted for an Irish aircraft lessor on the sale-and-leaseback of four newly delivered Airbus A321neo aircraft leased to a low-cost European airline.
- Advised a turboprop aircraft lessor on the back-to-back purchase and sale of a new ATR 72-600 aircraft to a Greek airline, coordinating aligned purchase terms and the simultaneous delivery of the aircraft between ATR, the lessor and the airline.
- Advising a Singaporean aircraft lessor on the deregistration of two aircraft from the UAE following Wizz Air’s restructuring of its Middle East operations, and the subsequent re-registration of the aircraft in Hungary and Malta.
- Acted for an Irish aircraft lessor on a Japanese operating lease with call option (JOLCO) financing involving the restructuring of leases for four mid-life Airbus A320 aircraft to a Latin American carrier, with debt provided by HCOB.
- Advised a Chinese aircraft leasing platform on multiple transactions following the acquisition of aircraft into a co-investment structure, including negotiating covenant amendments required by liquidity pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Served as lender’s counsel to an international private wealth bank on a series of business jet financings, including financings for new and pre-owned aircraft acquisitions, PDP financing and lease restructurings.
Professional Highlights
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United Kingdom as a Recommended Lawyer for Transport Finance and Leasing in London (2025–2026).
- “Sanctions: How to Sleep at Night,” Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Global - Dublin, Jan. 15, 2025. Speaker.
Education
-
Legal Practice Course, BPP Law School, 2014
LL.B. (Hons), University of Sussex, 2010
Admissions
-
England and Wales