Steven Udvar-Házy, a pioneering figure in the aviation finance industry who is widely regarded as the founder of the aircraft leasing business model, is set to retire on May 2, 2025.
The announcement was made on March 13, 2025, by Air Lease Corporation (ALC), the latest leasing firm Udvar-Házy founded, and where he currently holds the role of Executive Chairman.
ALC has confirmed that, after stepping down from his executive functions, Udvar-Házy will continue to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors as non-executive Chairman for another year, until the firm’s 2026 annual stockholders meeting.
Over his 60-year career, Udvar-Házy has helped shaped the commercial aviation industry. The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which he founded in the early 1970s and sold two decades later to American International Group (AIG), was instrumental in propelling the modern aircraft leasing industry.
Likewise, Udvar-Házy’s next venture, Air Lease Corporation (ALC), which launched in 2010, became a major player in the aircraft leasing industry. As of March 2025, it has a fleet of nearly 500 aircraft, with a combined value of over $28 billion, plus another $17 billion in future aircraft commitments.
During all these active decades Udvar-Házy, who was born in Hungary in 1946 and emigrated to the US with his family at a young age, has become one of the most respected voices in the commercial aviation industry, with other senior executives, analysts and the media seeking his often straightforward comments at all manner of industry conferences and functions.
Udvar-Házy is also known for his philanthropic work, notably his funding of the Smithsonian Institution to build the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the U.S. National Air and Space Museum. This center, located next to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), is considered to be one of the World’s top aerospace museums,
AeroTime had the opportunity to interview Mr. Udvar-Házy in November 2024, as part of the Executive Spotlight series, and ask his views about a number of industry developments and trends. You can find that interview here.
