New-Technology Aircraft Create Revenue Opportunities and Reduce Operating Costs

CIT Executive Spotlight Provides Insights on How Airlines Value New-Technology Aircraft

• Increased Revenue Opportunities, Enhanced Payload-Range and Airfield Performance and Lower Noise Footprint Will Enable Early Adopters To Gain A First-Mover Advantage
• Trade-Off Between Increased Ownership Cost of New-Technology Aircraft and Fuel Savings Depends on Utilization
• Aircraft With New Technology Will Require Fewer Man-Hours to Be Maintained and Will Spend Fewer Days on the Ground
• New-Technology Aircraft Will Appeal to High-Utilization Operators, Airlines Developing New Network Structures, and Carriers Operating Out of Noise or Runway Restricted Airports

Given the recent decline in oil prices, the value of new-technology aircraft has been questioned, but this is not warranted. New-technology aircraft create revenue opportunities and reduce operating costs, enabling airlines to build competitive moats that support sustainable business models. These are some of the observations shared in “The Value of New-Technology Single-Aisles” (cit.com/newtechnology), the latest piece of market intelligence from CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services.

“The advantages of adopting new-technology aircraft early will dissipate as the world’s fleet shifts to the new types,” said Steve Mason, Director and Head of Aircraft Evaluation and Asset Strategy, CIT Aerospace. “It will be the early-adopters who fully utilize the benefits of new-technology aircraft that build a lasting competitive advantage. While the price paid for the new-technology aircraft will be crucial to continued competitiveness, the timing of the adoption may be more so.”

Some of the other topics discussed in the report include:

• Fuel Costs Can Be Managed: Pricing is an airline’s strongest tool. By dynamically pricing seat inventory to reflect changes in costs, airlines mitigate their exposure to fuel price volatility.
• Competitive Advantage Must Be Built: Long delivery lead-times will create technology advantages for early adopters to exploit.
• High-Utilization Airlines Favor New Technology: Not all airlines are positioned to take advantage of the benefits new-technology aircraft deliver. Airlines that operate out of airports without noise restrictions will not assign an economic value to smaller noise footprints. Low utilization airlines may not save enough fuel to pay for increased ownership costs.
• The Value of New-Technology Aircraft Differs by Airline: Manufacturers desire payback after their costly period of product development, but new-technology aircraft bring a different value proposition to each airline. During this decade’s technology transition, a variety of options will permit airlines to acquire the right tool to meet their needs.

Individuals can download a free copy of “The Value of New-Technology Single-Aisles” (cit.com/newtechnology).

EDITOR’S NOTE:

CIT thought leadership content can be found at the Knowledge Center on CIT.com (cit.com/knowledgecenter) and our CIT Point of View blog (cit.com/pov). View our corporate video (cit.com/corporatevideo) and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. Register to receive press releases at cit.com/newsalerts.

About CIT Aerospace

As one of the world's leading aircraft leasing organizations, CIT Aerospace provides leasing and financing packages, including operating leases and structuring and advisory services, for commercial airlines worldwide. CIT Aerospace owns, finances and manages a fleet of more than 350 commercial aircraft serving approximately 100 customers in 50 countries. cit.com/aerospace

About CIT

Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with more than $65 billion in assets. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has more than $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. It provides financing, leasing and advisory services principally to middle market companies across a wide variety of industries primarily in North America, and equipment financing and leasing solutions to the transportation sector. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. cit.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005465/en/

CIT MEDIA RELATIONS:Matt Klein, 973-597-2020Director, Media [e-mail] INVESTOR RELATIONS:Barbara Callahan, 973-740-5058Senior Vice [e-mail]