Aircraft dry lease vs wet lease explained: compare ACMI, crew, maintenance, insurance, operational control, costs and the right use for each.
An aircraft dry lease supplies the aircraft without crew, maintenance or insurance; the lessee operates it under its own approvals. A wet lease supplies the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance—known as ACMI—and the lessor remains the operator. Dry leases suit longer-term fleet use, while wet leases add short-term capacity.
In our Aviation & Real-World Flying coverage, “dry” and “wet” describe what is bundled with the aircraft and who controls its operation. They do not describe how the purchase was financed: a dry lease can still be an operating or finance lease.
Dry lease vs wet lease: who provides what?
| Responsibility | Dry lease | Wet lease |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Provided by the lessor | Provided by the lessor |
| Flight and cabin crew | Provided by the lessee | Normally provided by the lessor |
| Maintenance | Arranged and managed by the lessee | Provided by the lessor |
| Insurance | Normally arranged by the lessee to the required standard | Aircraft and operational insurance provided by the lessor |
| Air operator certificate | Aircraft operates under the lessee’s AOC where one is required | Flight operates under the lessor’s AOC |
| Operational control | Lessee | Lessor |
| Typical use | Longer-term fleet expansion or replacement | Seasonal demand, disruption cover or rapid capacity |
These are standard airline-industry meanings, but the contract remains decisive. A dry lessee may outsource maintenance to a specialist, for example, without turning the arrangement into a wet lease. National aviation authorities can also apply more specific definitions and approval requirements.
Who has operational control of the aircraft?
The dry lessee controls the operation, while the wet lessor retains operational control under an ACMI arrangement. Operational control means responsibility and authority for initiating, conducting and terminating flights—not merely choosing the destination or selling the seats.
Under a wet lease, the customer airline may set the commercial schedule, route and ticket price. The lessor still assigns the crew, dispatches the aircraft, applies its operating procedures and carries the safety responsibility attached to its AOC. The captain and operating carrier cannot be overruled by the airline marketing the flight.
This explains why the airline shown on a ticket may differ from the carrier operating the aircraft. Branding, flight numbers and liveries do not by themselves establish operational control.
When should an airline choose a dry lease?
A dry lease makes sense when an airline needs aircraft for a sustained period and already has the people, approvals and infrastructure to operate them.
- Fleet growth: The airline can add aircraft without buying them outright.
- Fleet replacement: Leased capacity can bridge the period before new aircraft arrive or older aircraft leave service.
- Operational consistency: The lessee uses its own crews, manuals, scheduling and service standards.
- Lower bundled cost: A capable airline may operate the aircraft more economically than buying a complete ACMI service.
The trade-off is responsibility. The lessee needs suitable pilots, cabin crew, training, maintenance support, insurance and regulatory approval. Cross-border dry leases may also require acceptance from authorities overseeing the aircraft’s registration and the lessee’s operation.
When is a wet lease better?
A wet lease is better when capacity is needed faster than the airline can obtain aircraft, recruit crews and complete its own approvals.
- Seasonal peaks: Extra aircraft can cover a summer or winter traffic surge.
- Aircraft-on-ground disruption: ACMI capacity can replace an aircraft undergoing unplanned maintenance.
- New routes: An airline can test demand without committing its own aircraft and crews for the long term.
- Crew shortages: The lessor supplies qualified flight and cabin crew with the aircraft.
- Operational start-up: Wet leasing can provide temporary capacity while an airline builds its own operation, subject to regulatory approval.
Wet leasing is only one part of airline planning. Our explanation of how aircraft, crews and commercial schedules fit together provides the wider operational context.
What costs are excluded from an ACMI wet lease?
An ACMI price is not usually an all-inclusive cost for operating the route. The lessor supplies the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, but the customer commonly pays or reimburses other expenses.
- Fuel and fuel-related charges
- Airport, landing and parking fees
- Navigation and overflight charges
- Ground handling
- Catering and passenger services
- Taxes and other route-specific charges
- Crew accommodation or positioning costs where the contract excludes them
ACMI contracts are often priced by block hour and may include a minimum number of guaranteed hours. A mistake we see constantly is comparing that headline rate with the total cost of a dry lease without adding the expenses excluded from the ACMI agreement.
Can a dry lease include pilots?
A true dry lease does not bundle pilots supplied and controlled by the aircraft lessor. The lessee may employ or contract qualified pilots separately, but it must genuinely select, direct and accept responsibility for them.
If an owner labels an arrangement “dry” while also supplying the aircraft, pilots and effective operational control through a connected agreement, regulators may treat it as a wet lease or an unauthorised charter. The contract’s title cannot override how the flight is actually controlled. Our comparison of the company arranging a flight and the operator responsible for it explains this distinction.
What is a damp lease?
A damp lease is a partial wet lease in which the lessor supplies the aircraft and some, but not all, of the crew. A common arrangement has the lessor providing the flight deck crew while the lessee supplies cabin crew.
The term is commercial shorthand rather than a universally identical regulatory category. Crew responsibilities, training, insurance and operational control must therefore be checked in the agreement and against the rules of the authorities involved.