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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x      Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010

o         Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Commission File Number: 001-15369

WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (415) 408-4700

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes o  No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.   Yes o  No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes x  No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   Yes o  No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendments to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o  No x

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 30, 2010) was approximately $57.6 million (based on a closing sale price of $9.22 per share as reported on the NASDAQ National Market).

The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 14, 2011 was 9,126,949.

The Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

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 WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORPORATION
2010 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

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PART I

ITEM 1.                 BUSINESS

INTRODUCTION

Willis Lease Finance Corporation with its subsidiaries is a leading lessor of commercial aircraft engines.  Our principal business objective is to build value for our shareholders by acquiring commercial aircraft engines and managing those engines in order to provide a return on investment, primarily through lease rent and maintenance reserve revenues, as well as through management fees earned for managing aircraft engines owned by other parties. As of December 31, 2010, we had a total lease portfolio consisting of 179 engines and related equipment, three aircraft and four spare parts packages with 62 lessees in 35 countries and an aggregate net book value of $998.0 million. As of December 31, 2010, we managed a total lease portfolio of 16 engines and related equipment for other parties. We also seek, from time to time, to act as leasing agent of engines for other parties and we also own a relatively small portfolio of aircraft that we lease.

Our strategy is to lease aircraft engines and aircraft and provide related services to a diversified group of commercial aircraft operators and maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations (“MROs”) worldwide.  Commercial aircraft operators need engines in addition to those installed in the aircraft that they operate. These spare engines are required for various reasons including requirements that engines be inspected and repaired at regular intervals based on equipment utilization. Furthermore, unscheduled events such as mechanical failure, FAA airworthiness directives or manufacturer-recommended actions for maintenance, repair and overhaul of engines result in the need for spare engines. Commercial aircraft operators and others in the industry generally estimate that the total number of spare engines needed is between 10% and 15% of the total number of installed engines. Today it is estimated that there are nearly 47,000 engines installed on commercial aircraft. Accordingly, we estimate that there are between 4,700 and 7,100 spare engines in the market, including both owned and leased spare engines.

Our engine portfolio consists of noise-compliant Stage III commercial jet engines manufactured by CFMI, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce and International Aero Engines. These engines generally may be used on one or more aircraft types and are the most widely used engines in the world, powering Airbus, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Bombardier and Embraer aircraft.

The Company acquires engines for its leasing portfolio in a number of ways.  It enters into sale and lease back transactions with operators of aircraft and providers of engine maintenance cost per hour services. We also purchase both new and used engines, on a speculative basis (i.e. without a lease attached from manufacturers or other parties which own such engines).

We hold a fifty percent membership interest in a joint venture, WOLF A340, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, (“WOLF”). On December 30, 2005, WOLF completed the purchase of two Airbus A340-313 aircraft from Boeing Aircraft Holding Company for a purchase price of $96.0 million. These aircraft are currently leased to Emirates with remaining lease terms of 30 and 32 months. Our investment in the joint venture is $9.4 million.

We are a Delaware corporation, incorporated in 1996. Our executive offices are located at 773 San Marin Drive, Suite 2215, Novato, California 94998. We transact business directly and through our subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated.

We maintain a website at www.willislease.com where our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports are available without charge, as soon as reasonably practicable following the time they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0300. The SEC also maintains an electronic Internet site that contains our reports, proxy and information statements, and other information at http://www.sec.gov.

We do not break our business into multiple segments. Instead, we consider our continuing operations to operate in one reportable segment.

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THE WEST SECURITIZATION

Willis Engine Securitization Trust, or “WEST,” is a special-purpose, bankruptcy-remote, Delaware statutory trust that is wholly-owned by us and consolidated in our financial statements. We established WEST in 2005 to acquire and finance engines owned by another of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, WEST Engine Funding LLC (formerly Willis Engine Funding LLC). In August 2005 and again in March 2008, WEST issued and sold notes to finance its acquisition of engines. WEST’s obligations under these notes are serviced by revenues from the lease and disposition of its engines, and are secured by all its assets, including all its interests in its engines, its subsidiaries, restricted cash accounts, engine maintenance reserve accounts, all proceeds from the sale or disposition of engines, and all insurance proceeds. We have not guaranteed any obligations of WEST and none of our assets secure such obligations.

We are the servicer and administrative agent for WEST. Our annual fees for these services are 11.5% as servicer and 2.0% as administrative agent of the aggregate net rents actually received by WEST on its engines, and such fees are payable to us monthly. We are also paid a fee of 3.0% of the net proceeds from the sale of any engines. As WEST is consolidated in our financial statements these fees eliminate on consolidation. Proceeds from engine sales will be used, at WEST’s election, to reduce WEST’s debt or to acquire other engines.

WEST gives us the flexibility to manage the portfolio to adapt to changes in aircraft fleets and customer demand over time, benefiting both us and our investors. The asset-backed securitization provides a significant improvement to our capital structure by better matching debt maturity to asset life. It includes a warehouse facility to provide additional borrowing capacity, which offers new capital to fund growth and, more importantly, provides a structure for regular placement of additional term notes in the future as the warehouse matures.

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND - THE DEMAND FOR LEASED AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Historically, commercial aircraft operators owned rather than leased their engines. As engines become more powerful and technically sophisticated, they also become more expensive to acquire and maintain. In part due to cash constraints on commercial aircraft operators and the costs associated with engine ownership, commercial aircraft operators have become more cost-conscious and now utilize operating leases for a portion of their engines and are therefore better able to manage their finances in this capital-intensive business. Engine leasing is a specialized business that has evolved into a discrete sector of the commercial aviation market. Participants in this sector need access to capital, as well as specialized technical knowledge, in order to compete successfully.

Growth in the spare engine leasing industry is dependent on two fundamental drivers:

·                  the number of commercial aircraft, and therefore engines, in the market; and

·                  the proportion of engines that are leased, rather than owned, by commercial aircraft operators.

We believe both drivers will increase over time.

Increased number of aircraft, and therefore engines, in the market

We believe that the number of commercial and cargo aircraft, and hence spare engines, will increase. Boeing estimates that there are roughly 19,000 aircraft as of 2009 and projects this will grow to approximately 36,000 aircraft by 2029. Aircraft equipment manufacturers have predicted such an increase in aircraft to address the rapid growth of both passenger and cargo traffic in the Asian markets, as well as demand for new aircraft in more mature markets.

Increased lease penetration rate

Spare engines provide support for installed engines in the event of routine or other engine maintenance or unscheduled removal. The number of spare engines needed to service any fleet is determined by many factors. These factors include:

·                  the number and type of aircraft in an aircraft operator’s fleet;

·                  the geographic scope of such aircraft operator’s destinations;

·                  the time an engine is on-wing between removals;

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·                  average shop visit time; and

·                  the number of spare engines an aircraft operator requires in order to ensure coverage for predicted and unscheduled removals.

We believe that commercial aircraft operators are increasingly considering their spare engines as significant capital assets, where operating leases may be more attractive than capital leases or ownership of spare engines. Some believe that currently as many as 25% to 30% of the spare engine market falls under the category of leased engines. Industry analysts have forecast that the percentage of leased engines is likely to increase over the next 15 years as engine leasing follows the growth of aircraft leasing. We believe this is due to the increasing cost of newer engines, the anticipated modernization of the worldwide aircraft fleet and the significant cost associated therewith, and the emergence of new niche-focused airlines which generally use leasing in order to obtain their capital assets.

ENGINE LEASING

As of December 31, 2010, all of our leases to air carriers, manufacturers and MROs are operating leases as opposed to finance leases; however, the Company did enter into a finance lease in January 2011. Under operating leases, we retain the potential benefit and assume the risk of the residual value of the aircraft equipment, in contrast to capital or financing leases where the lessee has more of the potential benefits and risks of ownership. Operating leases allow commercial aircraft operators greater fleet and financial flexibility due to the relatively small initial capital outlay necessary to obtain use of the aircraft equipment, and the availability of short and long term leases to better meet their needs. Operating lease rates are generally higher than finance lease rates, in part because of the risks associated with the residual value.

We describe all of our current leases as “triple-net” operating leases. A triple-net operating lease requires the lessee to make the full lease payment and pay any other expenses associated with the use of the engines, such as maintenance, casualty and liability insurance, sales or use taxes and personal property taxes. The leases contain detailed provisions specifying the lessees’ responsibility for engine damage, maintenance standards and the required condition of the engine upon return at the end of the lease. During the term of the lease, we generally require the lessee to maintain the engine in accordance with an approved maintenance program designed to meet applicable regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions in which the lessee operates.

We lease our assets under both short and long term leases. Short term leases are generally for periods of less than one year. Under many of our leases the lessee pays use fees designed to cover expected future maintenance costs (often called maintenance reserves) which are reimbursable for certain maintenance expenditures. Under long term leases, at the end of the lease the accumulated use fees are retained by us to fund future maintenance not performed by the lessee as indicated by the remaining use fees. Under short-term leases and certain medium-term leases, we may undertake a portion of the maintenance and regulatory compliance risk. For these leases, the lessee has no claim to the maintenance reserves paid to us throughout the term of the lease. Use fees received are recognized in revenue as maintenance reserve revenue if they are not reimbursable to the lessee which is typically the case with short term leases. Use fees that are reimbursable under longer term leases are recorded as a maintenance reserve liability until they are reimbursed to the lessee or the lease terminates, at which time they are recognized in revenue as maintenance reserve revenue.

We try to mitigate risk where possible. For example, we make an analysis of the credit risk associated with the lessee before entering into any significant lease transaction. Our credit analysis generally consists of evaluating the prospective lessee’s financial standing by utilizing financial statements and trade and/or banking references. In certain circumstances, we may require our lessees to provide additional credit support such as a letter of credit or a guaranty from a bank or a third party or a security deposit. We also evaluate insurance and expropriation risk and evaluate and monitor the political and legal climate of the country in which a particular lessee is located in order to determine our ability to repossess our engines should the need arise. Despite these guidelines, we cannot give assurance that we will not experience collection problems or significant losses in the future. See “Risk Factors” below.

At the commencement of a lease, we may collect, in advance, a security deposit normally equal to at least one month’s lease payment. The security deposit is returned to the lessee after all lease return conditions have been met. Under the terms of some of our leases, during the term of the lease, the lessees pay amounts to us based on usage of the engine, which are referred to as maintenance reserves or use fees, which are designed to cover the expected future maintenance costs. For those leases in which the maintenance reserves are reimbursable to the lessee, maintenance reserves are collected and are reimbursed to the lessee when qualifying maintenance is performed. Under longer-term leases, to the extent that cumulative use fee billings are inadequate to fund expenditures required prior to return of the engine to us, the lessee is obligated to cover the shortfall. Recovery is therefore dependent upon the financial condition of the lessee.

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During the lease period, our leases require that maintenance and inspection of the leased engines be performed at qualified maintenance facilities certified by the FAA or its foreign equivalent. In addition, when an engine becomes off-lease, it undergoes inspection to verify compliance with lease return conditions. Our management believes that our attention to our lessees, and our emphasis on maintenance and inspection helps preserve residual values and generally helps us to recover our investment in our leased engines.

Upon termination of a lease, we will lease, sell or part out the related engines. The demand for aftermarket engines for either sale or lease may be affected by a number of variables, including:

·                  general market conditions;

·                  regulatory changes (particularly those imposing environmental, maintenance and other requirements on the operation of engines);

·                  changes in demand for air travel;

·                  fuel costs;

·                  changes in the supply and cost of aircraft equipment; and

·                  technological developments.

The value of particular used engines varies greatly depending upon their condition, the maintenance services performed during the lease term and, as applicable, the number of hours or cycles remaining until the next major maintenance is required. If we are unable to lease or sell engines on favorable terms, our financial results and our ability to service debt may be adversely affected. See “Risk Factors” below.

The value of a particular model of engine is heavily dependent on the status of the types of aircraft on which it is installed. We believe values of engines tend to be stable so long as the host aircraft for the engines as well as the engines themselves are still being manufactured. Prices will also tend to remain stable and even rise after a host aircraft is no longer manufactured so long as there is sufficient demand for the host aircraft. However, the value of an engine begins to decline rapidly once the host aircraft begins to be retired from service and/or parted out in significant numbers. Values of engines also may decline because of manufacturing defects that may surface subsequently.

As of December 31, 2010, we had a total lease portfolio of 179 aircraft engines and related equipment, four spare parts packages, three aircraft and various parts and other engine-related equipment with a cost of $1,190.4 million in our lease portfolio. As of December 31, 2009, we had a total lease portfolio of 169 aircraft engines and related equipment, three spare parts packages, four aircraft and various parts and other engine-related equipment with a cost of $1,137.5 million in our lease portfolio.

As of December 31, 2010, minimum future rentals under non-cancelable operating leases of these engines, parts and aircraft assets were as follows:

As of December 31, 2010, we had 62 lessees of commercial aircraft engines, aircraft, and other aircraft-related equipment in 35 countries. Although our exposure to one large customer has increased during 2010, we continue to believe the loss of any one customer would not have a significant long-term adverse effect on our business.  We operate in a global market in which our engines are easily transferable among lessees located in many countries, which stabilizes demand and allows us to recover from the loss of a particular customer. As a result, we do not believe we are dependent on a single customer or a few customers the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on our revenues.

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AIRCRAFT LEASING

As of December 31, 2010, we owned three DeHaviland DHC-8-100 turboprop aircraft, all of which we lease to Hawaii Island Air, Inc. (“Island Air”). These aircraft have a net book value of $3.3 million.

Gavarnie Holding, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Gavarnie”) owned by Charles F. Willis, IV, purchased the stock of Aloha Island Air, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, (“Island Air”) from Aloha AirGroup, Inc. (“Aloha”) on May 11, 2004. Charles F. Willis, IV is the President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors and owns approximately 30% of our common stock. As of December 31, 2010, Island Air leases three DeHaviland DHC-8-100 aircraft and four spare engines from us. The aircraft and engines on lease to Island Air have a net book value of $3.8 million at December 31, 2010. Beginning in 2006 Island Air experienced cash flow difficulties, which affected their payments to us due to a fare war commenced by a competitor, their dependence on tourism which has suffered from the current economic environment as well as volatile fuel prices. The Board of Directors approved lease rent deferrals which were accounted for as a reduction in lease revenue in the applicable periods. Because of the question regarding collectability of amounts due under these leases, lease rent revenue for these leases have been recorded on a cash basis until such time as collectability becomes reasonably assured. After taking into account the deferred amounts, Island Air owes us $2.8 million in overdue rent. We hold letters of credit for $0.2 million which may be used to partially offset our claims against Island Air.

In October 2010, Island Air purchased one airframe from us, generating a net gain of $0.4 million. Effective January 2, 2011 we converted the operating leases with Island Air to a finance lease, with a principal amount of $7.0 million, under which they have resumed monthly payments. This transaction will increase operating income by $3.2 million which will be recognized over the five year term of the finance lease. We are also discussing a program for them to commence payments of the deferred amounts under the previous operating leases on a reduced basis. This program is dependent on their obtaining substantially similar concessions from their other major creditors.

Our aircraft leases are “triple-net” leases and the lessee is responsible for making the full lease payment and paying any other expenses associated with the use of the aircraft, such as maintenance, casualty and liability insurance, sales or use taxes and personal property taxes. In addition, the lessee is responsible for normal maintenance and repairs, engine and airframe overhauls, and compliance with return conditions of flight equipment on lease. Under the provisions of many leases, for certain engine and airframe overhauls, we reimburse the lessee for costs incurred up to but not exceeding maintenance reserves the lessee has paid to us. Maintenance reserves are designed to cover the expected maintenance costs. The lessee is also responsible for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to the aircraft. We require our lessees to comply with FAA requirements. We periodically inspect our leased aircraft. Generally, we require a deposit as security for the lessee’s performance of obligations under the lease and the condition of the aircraft upon return. In addition, the leases contain extensive provisions regarding our remedies and rights in the event of a default by the lessee and specific provisions regarding the condition of the aircraft upon return. The lessee is required to continue to make lease payments under all circumstances, including periods during which the aircraft is not in operation due to maintenance or grounding.

We hold a fifty percent membership interest in a joint venture, WOLF A340, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, (“WOLF”). On December 30, 2005, WOLF completed the purchase of two Airbus A340-313 aircraft from Boeing Aircraft Holding Company for a purchase price of $96.0 million. These aircraft are currently on lease to Emirates until 2013. Our investment in the joint venture at December 31, 2010 is $9.4 million.

OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

We are uniquely positioned in the market and remain competitive, in part, due to the following advantages:

·                  We have an entrepreneurial culture and our size and independent ownership structure gives us a unique ability to move faster than our competition. We were founded in 1985 as a startup venture by our Chief Executive Officer, Charles F. Willis, IV, and we continue to foster an entrepreneurial attitude among our executives and employees. Unlike most other aircraft engine leasing companies, we are not tied to a particular manufacturer and are not part of a larger corporate entity. As a result, we can react more nimbly to customer demands and changes in the industry.

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·                  Our independent ownership allows us to meet our customer needs without regard to any potentially conflicting affiliate demands to use their engines or services. Many of the aircraft engine leasing companies with which we compete are owned in whole or part by aircraft engine manufacturers. As a result, these leasing companies are inherently motivated to sell to customers the aircraft equipment that is manufactured by their owners, regardless of whether that equipment best meets the needs of their customers. As an independent public company we have the ability to work with customers to correctly identify their needs and provide them with the engines, equipment and services that are best suited to those needs.

·                  We have significant technical expertise and experience. Our management as well as our marketing and sales teams all have extensive experience in leasing aircraft engines and equipment. Our technical group makes up approximately half of our total company staff levels. As a result, we possess a deep knowledge of the technical details of commercial aircraft engines and maintenance issues associated with these engines that enables us to provide our customers with comprehensive and up to date information on the various engine types available for lease.

·                  We have extensive industry contacts/relationships—worldwide. We have developed long-standing relationships with aircraft operators, equipment manufacturers and aircraft maintenance organizations around the world. Our extensive network of relationships enables us to quickly identify new leasing opportunities, procure engines and equipment and facilitate the repair of equipment owned by us and equipment leased by our customers.

·                  We have a trusted reputation for quality engines and engine records. We have been an independent lessor of aircraft engines and engine equipment since 1985. Since that time we have focused on providing customers with high quality engines and engine records. As a result of our commitment to these high standards, a significant portion of our customer base consists of customers who have leased engines from us previously.

·                  We have a diverse portfolio by customer, geography and engine type. As of December 31, 2010, we had a total lease portfolio consisting of 179 engines and related equipment, three aircraft and four spare parts packages with 62 lessees in 35 countries and an aggregate net book value of $998.0 million.

·                  We have a diverse product offering (by engine type and types of leases). We lease a variety of noise-compliant, Stage III commercial jet engines manufactured by CFMI, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce and International Aero Engines. These engines generally may be used on one or more aircraft types and are the most widely used engines in the world, powering Airbus, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Bombardier and Embraer aircraft. We offer short and long-term leases, sale/leaseback transactions and engine pooling arrangements where members of the pool have quick access to available spare engines from us or other pool members, which are typically structured as short-term leases.

COMPETITION

The markets for our products and services are very competitive, and we face competition from a number of sources. These competitors include aircraft engine and aircraft parts manufacturers, aircraft and aircraft engine lessors, airline and aircraft service and repair companies and aircraft spare parts distributors. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources than us. Those resources may include greater name recognition, larger product lines, complementary lines of business, greater financial, marketing, information systems and other resources. In addition, equipment manufacturers, aircraft maintenance providers, FAA certified repair facilities and other aviation aftermarket suppliers may vertically integrate into the markets that we serve, thereby significantly increasing industry competition. We can give no assurance that competitive pressures will not materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We compete primarily with aircraft engine manufacturers as well as with other aircraft engine lessors.  It is common for commercial aircraft operators and MRO’s to utilize several leasing companies to meet their aircraft engine needs and to minimize reliance on a single leasing company.

Our competitors compete with us in many ways, including pricing, technical expertise, lease flexibility, engine availability, supply reliability, customer service and the quality and condition of engines. Some of our competitors have greater financial resources than we do, or are affiliates of larger companies. We emphasize the quality of our portfolio of aircraft engines, supply reliability and high level of customer service to our aircraft equipment lessees. We focus on ensuring adequate aircraft engine availability in high-demand locations, dedicate large portions of our organization to building relationships with lessees, maintain close day-to-day coordination with lessees and have developed an engine pooling arrangement that allows pool members quick access to available spare aircraft engines.

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INSURANCE

In addition to requiring full indemnification under the terms of our leases, we require our lessees to carry the types of insurance customary in the air transportation industry, including comprehensive third party liability insurance and physical damage and casualty insurance. We require that we be named as an additional insured on liability insurance with ourselves and our lenders normally identified as the loss payee for damage to the equipment on policies carried by lessees. We monitor compliance with the insurance provisions of the leases. We also carry contingent physical damage and third party liability insurance as well as product liability insurance.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Our customers are subject to a high degree of regulation in the jurisdictions in which they operate. For example, the FAA regulates the manufacture, repair and operation of all aircraft operated in the United States and equivalent regulatory agencies in other countries, such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA”) in Europe, regulate aircraft operated in those countries. Such regulations also indirectly affect our business operations. All aircraft operated in the United States must be maintained under a continuous condition-monitoring program and must periodically undergo thorough inspection and maintenance. The inspection, maintenance and repair procedures for commercial aircraft are prescribed by regulatory authorities and can be performed only by certified repair facilities utilizing certified technicians. The FAA can suspend or revoke the authority of air carriers or their licensed personnel for failure to comply with regulations and ground aircraft if their airworthiness is in question.

While our leasing and reselling business is not regulated, the aircraft, engines and engine parts that we lease and sell to our customers must be accompanied by documentation that enables the customer to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. Furthermore, before parts may be installed in an aircraft, they must meet certain standards of condition established by the FAA and/or the equivalent regulatory agencies in other countries. Specific regulations vary from country to country, although regulatory requirements in other countries are generally satisfied by compliance with FAA requirements. With respect to a particular engine or engine component, we utilize FAA and/or EASA certified repair stations to repair and certify engines and components to ensure marketability.

Effective January 1, 2000, federal regulations stipulate that all aircraft engines hold, or be capable of holding, a noise certificate issued under Chapter 3 of Volume 1, Part II of Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention, or have been shown to comply with Stage III noise levels set out in Section 36.5 of Appendix C of Part 36 of the FAA Regulations of the United States if the engines are to be used in the continental United States. Additionally, much of Europe has adopted similar regulations. As of December 31, 2010, all of the engines in our lease portfolio are Stage III engines and are generally suitable for use on one or more commonly used aircraft.

We believe that the aviation industry will be subject to continued regulatory activity. Additionally, increased oversight has and will continue to originate from the quality assurance departments of airline operators. We have been able to meet all such requirements to date, and believe that we will be able to meet any additional requirements that may be imposed. We cannot give assurance, however, that new, more stringent government regulations will not be adopted in the future or that any such new regulations, if enacted, would not have a material adverse impact on us.

GEOGRAPHIC AREAS IN WHICH WE OPERATE

Approximately 81% of our on-lease engines, related aircraft parts, and equipment (all of which we sometimes refer to as “equipment”) by net book value are leased and operated internationally. All leases relating to this equipment are denominated and payable in U.S. dollars, which is customary in the industry. Future leases may provide for payments to be made in euros or other foreign currencies. In 2010, we leased our equipment to lessees domiciled in eight geographic regions. We are subject to a number of risks related to our foreign operations. See “Risk Factors” below.

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The following table displays the regional profile of our lease customer base for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008. No single country accounted for more than 10% of our lease rent revenue for any of those periods except for the United States and China in each of 2008-2010 and Brazil and Switzerland in each of 2009-2010. The tables include geographic information about our leased equipment grouped by the lessee’s domicile (which does not necessarily indicate the asset’s actual location):

FINANCING/SOURCE OF FUNDS

We, directly or through WEST, typically acquire engines with a combination of equity capital and funds borrowed from financial institutions. In order to facilitate financing and leasing of engines, each engine is generally owned through a statutory or common law trust that is wholly-owned by us or our subsidiaries. We usually borrow 70% to 83% of an engine purchase price. Substantially all of our assets secure our related indebtedness. We typically acquire engines from airlines in a sale-lease back transaction, from engine manufacturers or from other lessors. From time to time, we selectively acquire engines prior to a firm commitment to lease or sell the engine, depending on the price of the engine, market demand with the expectation that we can lease or sell such engines.

EMPLOYEES

As of December 31, 2010, we had 64 full-time employees (excluding consultants), in sales and marketing, technical service and administration. None of our employees is covered by a collective bargaining agreement and we believe our employee relations are satisfactory.

ITEM 1A.               RISK FACTORS

The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, operating results, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS

We are affected by the risks faced by commercial aircraft operators and MROs because they are our customers.

Commercial aircraft operators are engaged in economically sensitive, highly cyclical and competitive businesses. We are a supplier to commercial aircraft operators and MROs. As a result, we are indirectly affected by all the risks facing commercial aircraft operators and MROs, which are beyond our control. Our results of operations depend, in part, on the financial strength of our customers and our customers’ ability to compete effectively in the marketplace and manage their risks. These risks include, among others:

·                  general economic conditions in the countries in which our customers operate, including changes in gross domestic product;

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·                  demand for air travel and air cargo shipments;

·                  changes in interest rates and the availability and terms of credit available to commercial aircraft operators;

·                  concerns about security, terrorism, war, public health and political instability;

·                  environmental compliance and other regulatory costs;

·                  labor contracts, labor costs and stoppages at commercial aircraft operators;

·                  aircraft fuel prices and availability;

·                  technological developments;

·                  maintenance costs;

·                  airport access and air traffic control infrastructure constraints;

·                  insurance and other operating costs incurred by commercial aircraft operators and MROs;

·                  industry capacity, utilization and general market conditions; and

·                  market prices for aviation equipment.

To the extent that our customers are negatively affected by these risk factors, we may experience:

·                  a decrease in demand for some engine types in our portfolio;

·                  greater credit risks from our customers, and a higher incidence of lessee defaults and repossessions;

·                  an inability to quickly lease engines and aircraft on commercially acceptable terms when these become available through our purchase commitments and regular lease terminations; and

·                  shorter lease terms, which may increase our expenses and reduce our utilization rates.

Our engine values and lease rates, which are dependent on the status of the types of aircraft on which engines are installed, and other factors, could decline.

The value of a particular model of engine depends heavily on the types of aircraft on which it may be installed and the supply of available engines. We believe values of engines tend to be relatively stable so long as there is sufficient demand for the host aircraft. However, we believe the value of an engine begins to decline rapidly once the host aircraft begins to be retired from service and/or used for spare parts in significant numbers. Certain types of engines may be used in significant numbers by commercial aircraft operators that are currently experiencing financial difficulties. If such operators were to go into liquidation or similar proceedings, the resulting over-supply of engines from these operators could have an adverse effect on the demand for the affected engine types and the values of such engines.

Upon termination of a lease, we may be unable to enter into new leases or sell the engine on acceptable terms.

We own the engines that we lease to customers and bear the risk of not recovering our entire investment through leasing and selling the engines. Upon termination of a lease, we seek to enter a new lease or to sell the engine. We also selectively sell engines on an opportunistic basis. We cannot give assurance that we will be able to find, in a timely manner, a lessee for our engines coming off-lease. If we do find a lessee, we may not be able to obtain satisfactory lease rates and terms (including maintenance and redelivery conditions) or rates and terms comparable to our current leases, and we can give no assurance that the creditworthiness of any future lessee will be equal to or better than that of the existing lessees of our engines. Because the terms of engine leases may be less than 12 months, we may frequently need to remarket engines. We face the risk that we may not be able to keep the engines on lease consistently.

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We are subject to the risks and costs of aircraft maintenance and obsolescence on the aircraft that we own.

We currently own three DeHaviland DHC-8-100 turboprop aircraft and interests through WOLF in two Airbus A340-313 aircraft. We may buy other aircraft or interests in aircraft in the future primarily to seek opportunities to realize value from the engines. Among other risks described in this Annual Report, the following risks apply when we lease or sell aircraft:

·                  we will be subject to the greater maintenance risks and risks of declines in value that apply to aircraft as opposed to engines, as well as the potentially greater risks of leasing or selling aircraft;

·                  intense competition among manufacturers, lessors, and sellers may, among other things, adversely affect the demand for, lease rates and residual values of our aircraft;

·                  our aircraft lessees are aircraft operators engaged in economically sensitive, highly cyclical and competitive businesses and our results of operations from aircraft leasing depend, in part, on their financial strength (for more details, see the risk factor entitled “We are affected by the risks faced by commercial aircraft operators and MROs because they are our customers” above);

·                  our aircraft lessees may encounter significant financial difficulties, which could result in our agreeing to amend our leases with the customer to, among other things, defer or forgive rent payments or extend lease terms as an alternative to repossession;

·                  our aircraft lessees may file for bankruptcy which could result in us incurring greater losses with respect to aircraft than with respect to engines; and

·                  aircraft technology is constantly improving and, as a result, aircraft of a particular model and type tend to become obsolete and less in demand over time, when newer, more advanced and efficient aircraft become available.

We carry the risk of maintenance for our leased assets. Our maintenance reserves may be inadequate or lessees may default on their obligations to perform maintenance, which could increase our expenses.

Under most of our engine leases, the lessee makes monthly maintenance reserve payments to us based on the engine’s usage and management’s estimate of maintenance costs. A certain level of maintenance reserve payments on the WEST engines are held in related engine reserve restricted cash accounts. Generally the lessee under long term leases is responsible for all scheduled maintenance costs, even if they exceed the amounts of maintenance reserves paid. 37 of our leases comprising approximately 22.4% of the net book value of our on-lease engines at December 31, 2010 do not provide for any monthly maintenance reserve payments to be made by lessees, and we can give no assurance that future leases of the engines will require maintenance reserves. In some cases, including engine repossessions, we may decide to pay for refurbishments or repairs if the accumulated use fees are inadequate.

We can give no assurance that our operating cash flows and available liquidity reserves, including the amounts held in the engine reserve restricted cash accounts, will be sufficient to fund necessary engine maintenance. Actual maintenance reserve payments by lessees and other cash that we receive may be significantly less than projected as a result of numerous factors, including defaults by lessees. Furthermore, we can provide no assurance that lessees will meet their obligations to make maintenance reserve payments or perform required scheduled maintenance or, to the extent that maintenance reserve payments are insufficient to cover the cost of refurbishments or repairs.

Continuing failures by lessees to meet their maintenance and recordkeeping obligations under our leases could adversely affect the value of our leased engines and our ability to lease the engines in a timely manner following termination of the lease.

The value and income producing potential of an engine depend heavily on it being maintained in accordance with an approved maintenance system and complying with all applicable governmental directives and manufacturer requirements. In addition, for an engine to be available for service, all records, logs, licenses and documentation relating to maintenance and operations of the engine must be maintained in accordance with governmental and manufacturer specifications.

Our leases make the lessees primarily responsible for maintaining the engines, keeping related records and complying with governmental directives and manufacturer requirements. Over time, certain lessees have experienced and may experience in the future, difficulties in meeting their maintenance and recordkeeping obligations as specified by the terms of our leases.

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Our ability to determine the condition of the engines and whether the lessees are properly maintaining our engines is generally limited to the lessees’ reporting of monthly usage and any maintenance performed, confirmed by periodic inspections performed by us and third-parties. A lessee’s failure to meet its maintenance or recordkeeping obligations under a lease could result in:

·                   a grounding of the related engine;

·                   a repossession which would likely cause us to incur additional and potentially substantial expenditures in restoring the engine to an acceptable maintenance condition;

·                   a need to incur additional costs and devote resources to recreate the records prior to the sale or lease of the engine;

·                   loss of lease revenue while we perform refurbishments or repairs and recreate records; and

·                   a lower lease rate and/or shorter lease term under a new lease entered into by us following repossession of the engine.

Any of these events may adversely affect the value of the engine, unless and until remedied, and reduce our revenues and increase our expenses. If an engine is damaged during a lease and we are unable to recover from the lessee or insurance, we may incur a loss.

Our operating results vary and comparisons to results for preceding periods may not be meaningful.

Due to a number of factors, including the risks described in this ITEM 1A, our operating results may fluctuate. These fluctuations may also be caused by:

·                  the timing and number of purchases and sales of engines;

·                  the timing and amount of maintenance reserve revenues recorded resulting from the termination of long term leases, for which significant amount of maintenance reserves may have accumulated;

·                  the termination or announced termination of production of particular aircraft and engine types;

·                  the retirement or announced retirement of particular aircraft models by aircraft operators;

·                  the operating history of any particular engine or engine model;

·                  the length of our operating leases; and

·                  the timing of necessary overhauls of engines.

These risks may reduce our engine utilization rates, lease margins, maintenance reserve revenues, proceeds from engine sales, and result in higher legal, technical, maintenance, storage and insurance costs related to repossession and costs of engines being off-lease. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the availability of engines for lease or sale periodically experiences cycles of oversupply and undersupply of given engine models. The incidence of an oversupply of engines may produce substantial decreases in engine lease rates, the appraised and resale value of engines and increase the time and costs incurred to lease or sell engines.

We anticipate that fluctuations from period to period will continue in the future. As a result, we believe that comparisons to results for preceding periods may not be meaningful and that results of prior periods should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.

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Our customers face intense competition and some carriers are in troubled financial condition.

The commercial aviation industry deteriorated sharply in 2001 and 2002 after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the related slowdown in economic activity.  However, after a period of recovery, the airline industry was negatively impacted in 2008 and 2009 by the spike in fuel prices and the deepening worldwide recession, caused by the turmoil in the credit and financial markets. The airline industry has recovered in 2010, returning to profitability with carriers in emerging markets and the U.S. faring better than European carriers. However, we cannot give assurance that delinquencies and defaults on our leases will not increase during future cyclical downturns in the economy and commercial aviation industry.

Certain lessees may be significantly delinquent in their rental payments and may default on their lease obligations. As of December 31, 2010, we had an aggregate of approximately $1.5 million in lease rent and $1.2 million in maintenance reserve payments more than 30 days past due. Our inability to collect receivables or to repossess engines or other leased equipment in the event of a default by a lessee could have a material adverse effect on us.

Various airlines have filed for bankruptcy in the United States and other foreign jurisdictions, some of which are seeking to restructure their operations and others which are ceasing operations entirely. In the case of airlines which are restructuring, such airlines often reduce their flights or eliminate the use of certain types of aircrafts and the related engine types. Applicable bankruptcy law often allows these airlines to terminate leases early and to return our engines without meeting the contractual return conditions, and in that case, we may not be paid the full amount, or any part of, our claims for these lease terminations. Alternatively, we might negotiate agreements with those airlines under which the airline continues to lease the engine, but under modified lease terms. In the case of an airline which has ceased operations entirely, in addition to the risk of nonpayment, we face the enhanced risk of deterioration or total loss of an engine while it is under uncertain custody and control. In that case, we may be required to take legal action to secure the return of the engine and its records, or alternatively to negotiate a settlement under which we can immediately recover the engine and its records in exchange for waiving subsequent legal claims.

On January 5, 2010, Mesa Airlines filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. At the time of its filing, Mesa had leased six engines from us with a total net book value of $10.5 million as of December 31, 2009. Two of those engines were under leases which required ongoing maintenance reserve payments, and as of the filing Mesa was current on those payments. The other four engines were under leases which only required payment of maintenance reserves on a current basis if Mesa reported net losses for three consecutive quarters, and as of the filing, Mesa had not reported three consecutive loss quarters. Following the filing, Mesa terminated two of the leases and returned those engines to us. We also negotiated an agreement with Mesa under which Mesa extended the two engine leases under the original lease terms and continued the remaining two engine leases under modified lease terms. Under the modified leases, Mesa is required to make maintenance reserve payments for post-bankruptcy engine usage on a current basis, and we have filed proofs of claim in Mesa’s bankruptcy proceedings for the balance of maintenance reserve payments related to Mesa’s pre-bankruptcy engine usage.

In August 2010, Mexicana Airlines’ primary operating entity initiated commercial insolvency proceedings in Mexico. In September 2010, Mexicana Inter, the low-cost-carrier affiliate of Mexicana Airlines, also initiated its own commercial insolvency proceeding in Mexico. Mexicana and all of its affiliates also suspended all commercial passenger service on August 28, 2010, and have not resumed operations since then. At the time of their respective filings, Mexicana and Mexicana Inter had leased five engines from us with a total net book value of $19.9 million as of December 31, 2009. All five engines were under leases which did not require current payments of maintenance reserves. Due to the uncertainty of Mexicana’s ability to fully secure our engines after it ceased operations and the unlikelihood that it would resume operations in the immediate future, we focused our efforts on the immediate recovery of our assets from Mexico. In a negotiated settlement of claims against Mexicana, we were able to achieve the consensual return of all five of our engines and the related records between August and December 2010. As a result of the insolvency proceedings and subsequent settlement, the Company wrote-off to bad debt an outstanding notes receivable balance of $44,000 and $9,000 in recognized overdue rent.

Gavarnie Holding, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Gavarnie”) owned by Charles F. Willis, IV, purchased the stock of Aloha Island Air, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, (“Island Air”) from Aloha AirGroup, Inc. (“Aloha”) on May 11, 2004. Charles F. Willis, IV is the President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors and owns approximately 30% of our common stock. As of December 31, 2010, Island Air leases three DeHaviland DHC-8-100 aircraft and four spare engines from us. The aircraft and engines on lease to Island Air have a net book value of $3.8 million at December 31, 2010. Beginning in 2006 Island Air experienced cash flow difficulties, which affected their payments to us due

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to a fare war commenced by a competitor, their dependence on tourism which has suffered from the current economic environment as well as volatile fuel prices. The Board of Directors approved lease rent deferrals which were accounted for as a reduction in lease revenue in the applicable periods. Because of the question regarding collectability of amounts due under these leases, lease rent revenue for these leases have been recorded on a cash basis until such time as collectability becomes reasonably assured. After taking into account the deferred amounts, Island Air owes us $2.8 million in overdue rent. We hold letters of credit for $0.2 million which may be used to partially offset our claims against Island Air.

In October 2010, Island Air purchased one airframe from us, generating a net gain of $0.4 million. Effective January 2, 2011 we converted the operating leases with Island Air to a finance lease, with a principal amount of $7.0 million, under which they have resumed monthly payments. This transaction will increase operating income by $3.2 million which will be recognized over the five year term of the finance lease. We are also discussing a program for them to commence payments of the deferred amounts under the previous operating leases on a reduced basis. This program is dependent on their obtaining substantially similar concessions from their other major creditors.

We may not be able to repossess an engine when the lessee defaults, and even if we are able to repossess the engine, we may have to expend significant funds in the repossession and leasing of the engine.

When a lessee defaults we typically seek to terminate the lease and repossess the engine. If a defaulting lessee contests the termination and repossession or is under court protection, enforcement of our rights under the lease may be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. We may not realize any practical benefits from our legal rights and we may need to obtain consents to export the engine. As a result, the relevant engine may be off-lease or not producing revenue for a prolonged period. In addition, we will incur direct costs associated with repossessing our engine. These costs may include legal and similar costs, the direct costs of transporting, storing and insuring the engine, and costs associated with necessary maintenance and recordkeeping to make the engine available for lease or sale. During this time, we will realize no revenue from the leased engine, and we will continue to be obligated to pay our debt financing for the engine. If an engine is installed on an airframe, the airframe may be owned by an aircraft lessor or other third party. Our ability to recover engines installed on airframes may depend on the cooperation of the airframe owner.

We and our customers operate in a highly regulated industry and changes in laws or regulations may adversely affect our ability to lease or sell our engines.

Licenses and consents

We and our customers operate in a highly regulated industry. A number of our leases require specific governmental or regulatory licenses, consents or approvals. These include consents for certain payments under the leases and for the export, import or re-export of our engines. Consents needed in connection with future leasing or sale of our engines may not be received timely or have economically feasible terms. Any of these events could adversely affect our ability to lease or sell engines.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, or the “Commerce Department,” regulates exports. We are subject to the Commerce Department’s and the U.S. Department of State’s regulations with respect to the lease and sale of engines and aircraft to foreign entities and the export of related parts. These Departments may, in some cases, require us to obtain export licenses for engines exported to foreign countries. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, enforces regulations related to the import of engines and aircraft into the United States for maintenance or lease and imports of parts for installation on our engines and aircraft.

We are prohibited from doing business with persons designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or “OFAC,” on its “Specially Designated Nationals List,” and must monitor our operations and existing and potential lessees for compliance with OFAC’s rules.

Anti-corruption Laws

As a U.S. corporation with significant international operations, we are required to comply with a number of U.S.  and international laws and regulations, including those involving anti-corruption.  For example, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and similar world-wide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. The scope and enforcement of anti-corruption laws and regulations may vary. Although our policies expressly mandate compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that none of our employees or agents will take any action in violation of our policies. Violations of such laws or regulations could result in substantial civil or criminal fines or sanctions. Actual or alleged violations could also damage our reputation, be expensive to defend, and impair our ability to do business.

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Civil aviation regulation

Users of engines are subject to general civil aviation authorities, including the FAA and Joint Aviation Authorities in Europe, who regulate the maintenance of engines and issue airworthiness directives. Airworthiness directives typically set forth special maintenance actions or modifications to certain engine types or series of specific engines that must be implemented for the engine to remain in service. Also, airworthiness directives may require the lessee to make more frequent inspections of an engine or particular engine parts. Each lessee of an engine generally is responsible for complying with all airworthiness directives. However, if the engine is off lease, we may be forced to bear the cost of compliance with such airworthiness directives, and if the engine is leased, subject to the terms of the lease, if any, we may be forced to share the cost of compliance.

Environmental regulation

Governmental regulations of noise and emissions levels may be applicable where the related airframe is registered, and where the aircraft is operated. For example, jurisdictions throughout the world have adopted noise regulations which require all aircraft to comply with Stage III noise requirements. In addition to the current Stage III compliance requirements, the United States and the International Civil Aviation Organization, or “ICAO,” have adopted a new, more stringent set of “Stage IV” standards for noise levels which will apply to engines manufactured or certified beginning in 2006. At this time, the United States regulations would not require any phase-out of aircraft that qualify only for Stage III compliance, but the European Union has established a framework for the imposition of operating limitations on non-Stage IV aircraft. These regulations could limit the economic life of our engines or reduce their value, could limit our ability to lease or sell the non-compliant engines or, if engine modifications are permitted, require us to make significant additional investments in the engines to make them compliant.

The United States and other jurisdictions are beginning to impose more stringent limits on the emission of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions from engines, consistent with ICAO standards. These limits generally apply only to engines manufactured after 1999. Concerns over global warming could result in more stringent limitations on the operation of older, non-compliant engines.

Any change to current tax laws or accounting principles making operating lease financing less attractive could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our lessees enjoy favorable accounting and tax treatment by using operating leases. Changes in tax laws or accounting principles that make operating leases less attractive to our lessees could have a material adverse affect on demand for our leases and on our business.

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) have recently issued a jointly developed proposal on lease accounting that could significantly change the accounting and reporting for lease arrangements. The main objective of the proposed standard is to create a new accounting model for both lessees and lessors, replacing the existing concepts of operating and capital leases with models. The new models would result in the elimination of most off-balance sheet lease financing for lessees. Lessors would apply one of two models depending upon whether the lessor retains exposure to significant risks or benefits of the underlying assets. The FASB’s document is in the form of an exposure draft of a proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases (Topic 840) (“ED”), issued in August 2010, and would apply to the accounting for all leases, with some exceptions. The ED also includes expanded disclosures including quantitative and qualitative information to enable users to understand the amount and timing of expected cash flows for both lessors and lessees.

The proposals set out in the ED were open for comment until December 15, 2010. A final standard is targeted to occur by June 30, 2011. If there are future changes in GAAP with regard to how we and our customers must account for leases, it could change the way we and our customers conduct our businesses and, therefore, could have the potential to have an adverse effect on our business. We do not anticipate that the accounting pronouncement, when issued, will change the fundamental economic reasons that airlines lease aircraft and aircraft engines.

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Allegations that our aircraft, engines or parts caused bodily injury or property damage expose us to liability claims.

We are exposed to potential liability claims if the use of our aircraft, engines or parts is alleged to have caused bodily injury or property damage. Our leases require our lessees to indemnify us against these claims and to carry insurance customary in the air transportation industry, including liability, property damage and hull all risks insurance on our engines and on our aircraft at agreed upon levels. We can give no assurance that one or more catastrophic events will not exceed insurance coverage limits or that lessees’ insurance will cover all claims that may be asserted against us. Any insurance coverage deficiency or default by lessees under their indemnification or insurance obligations may reduce our recovery of losses upon an event of loss.

We may not be adequately covered by insurance.

While we maintain contingent insurance covering losses not covered by our lessees’ insurance, such coverage may not be available in circumstances where the lessee’s insurance coverage is insufficient. In addition, if a lessee is not obligated to maintain sufficient insurance, we may incur the costs of additional insurance coverage during the related lease. We are required under certain of our debt facilities to obtain political risk insurance for leases to lessees in specified jurisdictions. We can give no assurance that such insurance will be available at commercially reasonable rates, if at all.

Currently, the U.S. government is still offering war risk insurance to U.S.-certificated airlines; however, most foreign governments have ceased this practice, forcing non-U.S. airlines back into the commercial insurance market for this coverage. It is unknown how long the U.S. government will continue to offer war risk insurance and whether U.S.-certificated airlines could obtain war risk insurance in the commercial markets on acceptable terms and conditions.

We and our lenders generally are named as an additional insured on liability insurance policies carried by our lessees and are usually the loss payees for damage to the engines. We have not experienced any significant aviation-related claims or any product liability claims related to our engines or spare parts that were not insured. However, an uninsured or partially insured claim, or a claim for which third-party indemnification is not available, could have a material adverse effect upon us. A loss of an aircraft where we lease the airframe, an engine or spare parts could result in significant monetary claims.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR CAPITAL STRUCTURE

Our inability to obtain sufficient capital would constrain our ability to grow our portfolio and to increase our revenues.

Our business is capital intensive and highly leveraged. Accordingly, our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and maintain our operations depends on the availability and cost of debt and equity capital. Additionally, our ability to borrow against our portfolio of engines is dependent, in part, on the appraised value of our engines. If the appraised value of our engines declines, we may be required to reduce the principal outstanding under certain of our debt facilities. Availability under such debt facilities may also be reduced, at least temporarily, as a result of such reduced appraisals.

The recent, well publicized, worldwide disruptions in the credit and financial markets increase the risk of adverse effects on our customers and our capital providers (lenders and derivative counter-parties) and therefore on us. The disruptions may also adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to continue our recent growth trend. Although we have adequate debt commitments from our lenders, assuming they are willing and able to meet their contractual obligation to lend to us, the market disruptions may adversely affect our ability to raise additional equity capital to fund future growth, requiring us to rely on internally generated funds. This would lower our rate of capital investment.

We can give no assurance that the capital we need will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Our inability to obtain sufficient capital, or to renew or expand our credit facilities could result in increased funding costs and would limit our ability to:

·                  meet the terms and maturities of our existing and future debt facilities;

·                  add new equipment to our portfolio;

·                  fund our working capital needs and maintain adequate liquidity; and

·                  finance other growth initiatives.

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Our financing facilities impose restrictions on our operations.

We have, and expect to continue to have, various credit and financing arrangements with third parties. These financing arrangements are secured by all or substantially all of our assets. Our existing credit and financing arrangements require us to meet certain financial condition and performance tests. Our revolving credit facility prohibits our declaring or paying dividends on shares of any class or series of our capital stock if an event of default under such facilities has or will occur and remains uncured. The agreements governing our debt, including the issuance of notes by WEST, also include restrictive financial covenants. A breach of those and other covenants could, unless waived or amended by our creditors, result in a cross-default to other indebtedness and an acceleration of all or substantially all of our debt. We have obtained such amendments and waivers to our financing agreements in the past, but we cannot provide any assurance that we will receive such amendments or waivers in the future if we request them. If our outstanding debt is accelerated at any time, we likely would have little or no cash or other assets available after payment of our debts, which could cause the value or market price of our outstanding equity securities to decline significantly and we would have few, if any, assets available for distributions to our equity holders in liquidation.

We are exposed to interest rate risk on our engine leases, which could have a negative impact on our margins.

We are affected by fluctuations in interest rates. Our lease rates are generally fixed, but nearly all our debt bears variable rate interest based on one-month LIBOR, so changes in interest rates directly affect our lease margins. We seek to reduce our interest rate volatility and uncertainty through hedging with interest rate derivative contracts with respect to a portion of our debt. Our lease margins, as well as our earnings and cash flows may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, to the extent we do not have hedges or other derivatives in place or if our hedges or other derivatives do not mitigate our interest rate exposure from an economic standpoint. We would be adversely affected by increasing interest rates. As reported by British Bankers’ Association, the one-month LIBOR has increased from approximately 0.23% on December 31, 2009 to approximately 0.26% on December 31, 2010.

We have risks in managing our portfolio of engines to meet customer needs.

The relatively long life cycles of aircraft and jet engines can be shortened by world events, government regulation or customer preferences. We seek to manage these risks by trying to anticipate demand for particular engine types, maintaining a portfolio mix of engines that we believe is diversified and that will have long-term value and will be sought by lessees in the global market for jet engines, and by selling engines that we expect will experience obsolescence or declining usefulness in the foreseeable future. The WEST securitization facility limits our sale of certain engines in that facility during any 12 month period to 10% of the “average aggregate adjusted borrowing value” of the engines during any 12 month period, which may inhibit engine sales that we otherwise believe should be pursued. We can give no assurance that we can successfully manage our engine portfolio to reduce these risks.

Our inability to maintain sufficient liquidity could limit our operational flexibility and also impact our ability to make payments on our obligations as they come due.

In addition to being capital intensive and highly leveraged, our business also requires that we maintain sufficient liquidity to enable us to contribute the non-financed portion of engine purchases as well as to service our payment obligations to our creditors as they become due despite the fact that the timing and amounts of payments under our leases do not match the timing under our debt service obligations. Our restricted cash is unavailable for general corporate purposes. Accordingly, our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and maintain our operations depends on our ability to continue to maintain sufficient liquidity, cash and available credit under our credit facilities. Our liquidity could be adversely impacted if we are subjected to one or more of the following: a significant decline in lease revenues, a material increase in interest expense that is not matched by a corresponding increase in lease rates, a significant increase in operating expenses, or a reduction in our available credit under our credit facilities. If we do not maintain sufficient liquidity, our ability to meet our payment obligations to creditors or to borrow additional funds could become impaired as could our ability to make dividend payments or other distributions to our equity holders. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

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NUMEROUS FACTORS MAY AFFECT THE TRADING PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK AND OUR PREFERRED STOCK

The trading price of our common stock and our Series A Preferred Stock may fluctuate due to many factors, including:

·                  risks relating to our business described in this Annual Report;

·                  sales of our securities by a few stockholders or even a single significant stockholder;

·                  general economic conditions;

·                  changes in accounting mandated under GAAP;

·                  quarterly variations in our operating results;

·                  our financial condition, performance and prospects;

·                  changes in financial estimates by us;

·                  level, direction and volatility of interest rates and expectations of changes in rates;

·                  market for securities similar to our common stock and our Series A Preferred Stock; and

·                  changes in our capital structure, including additional issuances by us of debt or equity securities.

In addition, the U.S. stock markets have experienced price and volume volatility that has affected many companies’ stock prices, often for reasons unrelated to the operating performance of those companies.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR FOREIGN OPERATIONS

A substantial portion of our lease revenue comes from foreign customers, subjecting us to divergent regulatory requirements.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, 78% of our lease revenue was generated by leases to foreign customers. Such international leases present risks to us because certain foreign laws, regulations and judicial procedures may not be as protective of lessor rights as those which apply in the United States. We are also subject to risks of foreign laws that affect the timing and access to courts and may limit our remedies when collecting lease payments and recovering assets. None of our leased engines have been expropriated; however, we can give no assurance that political instability abroad and changes in the policies of foreign nations will not present expropriation risks in the future that are not covered by insurance.

Our leases require payments in U.S. dollars but many of our customers operate in other currencies; if foreign currencies devalue against the U.S. dollar, our lessees may be unable to make their payments to us.

All of our current leases require that payments be made in U.S. dollars. If the currency that our lessees typically use in operating their businesses devalues against the U.S. dollar, the lessees could encounter difficulties in making payments in U.S. dollars. Furthermore, many foreign countries have currency and exchange laws regulating international payments that may impede or prevent payments from being paid to us in U.S. dollars. Future leases may provide for payments to be made in euros or other foreign currencies. Any change in the currency exchange rate that reduces the amount of U.S. dollars obtained by us upon conversion of future lease payments denominated in euros or other foreign currencies, may, if not appropriately hedged by us, have a material adverse effect on us and increase the volatility of our earnings. If payments on our leases are made in foreign currency, our risks and hedging costs will increase.

We operate globally and are affected by our customers’ local and regional economic and other risks.

We believe that our customers’ growth and financial condition are driven by economic growth in their service areas. The largest portion of our lease revenues come from Europe. European airline operations are among the most heavily regulated in the world. At the same time, new low-cost carriers have exerted substantial competitive and financial pressure on major European airlines. Low-cost carriers are having similar effects in North America and elsewhere.

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Our operations may also be affected by political or economic instability in the areas where we have customers.

We may not be able to enforce our rights as a creditor if a lessee files for bankruptcy outside of the United States.

When a debtor seeks protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code, creditors are automatically stayed from enforcing their rights. In the case of United States-certificated airlines, Section 1110 of the Bankruptcy Code provides certain relief to lessors of aircraft equipment. Section 1110 has been the subject of significant litigation and we can give no assurance that Section 1110 will protect our investment in an aircraft or engines in the event of a lessee’s bankruptcy. In addition, Section 1110 does not apply to lessees located outside of the United States and applicable foreign laws may not provide comparable protection.

Liens on our engines could exceed the value of the engines, which could negatively affect our ability to repossess, lease or sell a particular engine.

Liens that secure the payment of repairers’ charges or other liens may, depending on the jurisdiction, attach to the engines. Engines also may be installed on airframes to which liens unrelated to the engines have attached. These liens may secure substantial sums that may, in certain jurisdictions or for limited types of liens, exceed the value of the particular engine to which the liens have attached. In some jurisdictions, a lien may give the holder the right to detain or, in limited cases, sell or cause the forfeiture of the engine. Such liens may have priority over our interest as well as our creditors’ interest in the engines, either because they have such priority under applicable local law or because our creditors’ security interests are not filed in jurisdictions outside the United States. These liens and lien holders could impair our ability to repossess and lease or sell the engines. We cannot give assurance that our lessees will comply with their obligations to discharge third party liens on our engines. If they do not, we may, in the future, find it necessary to pay the claims secured by such liens to repossess the engines.

In certain countries, an engine affixed to an aircraft may become an accession to the aircraft and we may not be able to exercise our ownership rights over the engine.

In some jurisdictions, an engine affixed to an aircraft may become an accession to the aircraft, so that the ownership rights of the owner of the aircraft supersede the ownership rights of the owner of the engine. If an aircraft is security for the owner’s obligations to a third-party, the security interest in the aircraft may supersede our rights as owner of the engine. This legal principle could limit our ability to repossess an engine in the event of a lease default while the aircraft with the engine installed remains in such a jurisdiction. We may suffer a loss if we are not able to repossess engines leased to lessees in these jurisdictions.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR SMALL SIZE AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE

Intense competition in our industry, particularly with major companies with substantially greater financial, personnel, marketing and other resources, could cause our revenues and business to suffer.

The engine leasing industry is highly competitive and global. Our primary competitors include GE Engine Leasing, Shannon Engine Support, Pratt &Whitney, Rolls-Royce Partners Finance and Engine Lease Finance.

Our primary competitors generally have significantly greater financial, personnel and other resources, and a physical presence in more locations, than we do. In addition, competing engine lessors may have lower costs of capital and may provide financial or technical services or other inducements to customers, including the ability to sell or lease aircraft or provide other forms of financing that we do not provide. We cannot give assurance that we will be able to compete effectively or that competitive pressures will not adversely affect us.

There is no organized market for the spare engines we purchase. Typically, we purchase engines from commercial aircraft operators, engine manufacturers, MROs and other suppliers. We rely on our representatives, advertisements and reputation to generate opportunities to purchase and sell engines. The market for purchasing engine portfolios is highly competitive, generally involving an auction bidding process. We can give no assurance that engines will continue to be available to us on acceptable terms and in the types and quantities we seek consistent with the diversification requirements of our debt facilities and our portfolio diversification goals.

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Substantially all of our assets are pledged to our creditors.

Substantially all of our assets are pledged to secure our obligations to creditors. Our revolving credit banks have a lien on all of our assets, including our equity in WEST. Due to WEST’s bankruptcy remote structure, that equity is subject to the prior payments of WEST’s debt and other obligations. Therefore, our rights and the rights of our creditors to participate in any distribution of the assets of WEST upon its liquidation, reorganization, dissolution or winding up will be subject to the prior claims of WEST’s creditors. Similarly, the rights of our shareholders are subject to satisfaction of the claims of our lenders and other creditors.

We may be unable to manage the expansion of our operations.

We can give no assurance that we will be able to manage effectively the potential expansion of our operations, or that if we are successful expanding our operations that our systems, procedures or controls will be adequate to support our operations, in which event our business, financial condition, results and cash flows could be adversely affected.

Any acquisition or expansion involves various risks, which may include some or all of the following:

·                  incurring or assuming additional debt;

·                  diversion of management’s time and attention from ongoing business operations;

·                  future charges to earnings related to the possible impairment of goodwill and the write down of other intangible assets;

·                  risks of unknown or contingent liabilities;

·                  difficulties in the assimilation of operations, services, products and personnel;

·                  unanticipated costs and delays;

·                  risk that the acquired business does not perform consistently with our growth and profitability expectations;

·                  risk that growth will strain our infrastructure, staff, internal controls and management, which may require additional personnel, time and expenditures; and

·                  potential loss of key employees and customers.

Any of the above factors could have a material adverse effect on us.

Compliance with the regulatory requirements imposed on us as a public company results in significant costs that will likely have an adverse effect on our results.

As a public company, we are subject to various regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Compliance with these regulations results in significant additional costs to us both directly, through increased audit and consulting fees, and indirectly, through the time required by our limited resources to address the regulations. We have complied with Section 404a of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as of December 31, 2007, completing our annual assessment of internal controls over financial reporting. We complied with Section 404b of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as of December 31, 2009 and our independent registered public accounting firm has audited internal controls over financial reporting. Such compliance requires us to incur additional costs on audit and consulting fees and require additional management time that will adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.

We are effectively controlled by one principal stockholder, who has the power to contest the outcome of most matters submitted to the stockholders for approval and to affect our stock prices adversely if he were to sell substantial amounts of his common stock.

As of December 31, 2010, our principal stockholder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Charles F. Willis, IV, beneficially owned or had the ability to direct the voting of 2,779,307 shares of our common stock, representing approximately 30% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. As a result, Mr. Willis

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effectively controls us and has the power to contest the outcome of substantially all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of the board of directors. In addition, future sales by Mr. Willis of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the potential for such sales, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock and possibly other classes or series of our stock such as our Series A Preferred Stock.

Our business might suffer if we were to lose the services of certain key employees.

Our business operations depend upon our key employees, including our executive officers. Loss of any of these employees, particularly our Chief Executive Officer, could have a material adverse effect on our business as our key employees have knowledge of our industry and customers and would be difficult to replace. We maintain key man life insurance of $5.0 million on Mr. Willis, but such amount is unlikely to adequately compensate us for the loss of his services.

We are the servicer and administrative agent for the WEST facility and our cash flows would be materially and adversely affected if we were removed from these positions.

We are the servicer and administrative agent with respect to engines in the WEST facility. We receive annual fees of 11.5% as servicer and 2.0% as administrative agent of the aggregate net rents actually received by WEST on its engines. We may be removed as servicer and administrative agent by the affirmative vote of a requisite number of holders of WEST facility notes upon the occurrence of certain specified events, including the following events, subject to WEST following certain specified procedures and providing us certain cure rights as set forth in the servicing agreement:

·                  We fail to perform the requisite services set forth in the servicing agreement or administrative agent agreement;

·                  We fail to provide adequate insurance or otherwise materially and adversely affects the rights of WEST;

·                  We cease to be engaged in the aircraft engine leasing business;

·                  We become subject to an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding, either voluntarily or involuntarily;

·                  We fail to maintain the following financial covenants set forth in the servicing agreement:

·                  Maintain a ratio of total indebtedness to tangible net worth ratio of less than 5.0-to-1.0; and

·                  Maintain a ratio of earnings before interest, taxes to interest (excluding any extraordinary gains or losses and pre-WEST engine financing costs) of at least 1.2-to-1.0 on a rolling-four -quarter-basis;

·                  We undergo one of certain change of control transactions set forth in the servicing agreement; and

·                  We default in the payment of other indebtedness of $10.0 million or more or indebtedness in such amount shall have been accelerated as a result of an event of default under the applicable agreements.

As of December 31, 2010, we were in compliance with the financial covenants set forth above. There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance with these covenants in the future or will not otherwise be terminated as service or administrative agent for the WEST facility. If we are removed, our expenses would increase since our consolidated subsidiary, WEST, would have to hire an outside provider to replace the servicer and administrative agent functions, and we would be materially and adversely affected. Consequently, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows would be adversely affected.

Provisions in Delaware law and our charter and bylaws might prevent or delay a change of control.

Certain provisions of law, our amended certificate of incorporation, bylaws and amended rights agreement could make the following more difficult: (1) an acquisition of us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise, and (2) the removal of incumbent officers and directors.

Our board of directors has authorized the issuance of shares of Series I Preferred Stock pursuant to our amended rights agreement, by and between us and American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, as rights agent. The rights agreement could make it more difficult to proceed with and tend to discourage a merger, tender offer or proxy contest. Our amended certificate of incorporation also provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be taken by written consent and, in certain circumstances relating to acquisitions or other changes in control, requires an 80% supermajority vote of all outstanding shares of our common stock. Our bylaws also limit the ability of stockholders to raise matters at a meeting of stockholders without giving advance notice.

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ITEM 2.                    PROPERTIES

Our principal offices are located at 773 San Marin Drive, Suite 2215, Novato, California, 94998. We occupy space in Novato under a lease that covers approximately 18,375 square feet of office space and expires February 28, 2015. The remaining lease rental commitment is approximately $2.2 million, with $0.5 million owing for 2011. Equipment leasing, financing, sales and general administrative activities are conducted from the Novato location. We also sub-lease approximately 7,150 square feet of office and warehouse space for our operations at San Diego, California. This lease expires October 31, 2013, and the remaining lease commitment is approximately $0.5 million. We also lease office space in Shanghai, China. The lease expires December 31, 2011 and the remaining lease commitment is approximately $65,000. We also lease office and living space in London, United Kingdom. The office space lease continues month-to-month and the living space lease expires January 3, 2011. At December 31, 2010, there was no remaining lease commitment. We also lease office space in Blagnac, France. The lease expires December 31, 2011 and the remaining lease commitment is approximately $20,000.

ITEM 3.                    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Two of our Irish subsidiaries, WLFC Funding (Ireland) Limited and WLFC (Ireland) Limited, were sued in connection with the Italian liquidation proceedings of Volare Airlines. The actions allege that our subsidiaries received preferential payments in the aggregate amount of 7.0 million euro on account of our engine leases to Volare in 2003 and within one year prior to Volare’s ceasing operations. We believe any loss, as a result of the proceedings, is neither probable nor estimable at December 31, 2010, and we are defending this claim vigorously.

ITEM 4.                    SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to a vote of stockholders during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2010.

PART II

ITEM 5.                    MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The following information relates to our Common Stock, which is listed on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol WLFC. As of March 15, 2011 there were approximately 1,690 stockholders of our Common Stock.

The high and low closing sales price of the Common Stock for each quarter of 2010 and 2009, as reported by NASDAQ, are set forth below:

During the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 we did not pay cash dividends to our common stockholders. We have not made any dividend payments to our common stockholders since our inception as all available cash has been utilized for the business. We have no intention of paying dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, certain of our debt facilities contain negative covenants which prohibit us from paying any dividends or making distributions of any kind with respect to our common stock.

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The following table outlines our Equity Compensation Plan Information:

* Plan expired

The 1996 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan and the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan were approved by security holders. The 2007 Stock Incentive Plan authorized 2,000,000 shares of common stock. 1,070,092 shares of restricted stock were granted under the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan by December 31, 2010. Of this amount, 33,043 shares of restricted stock were withheld or forfeited and returned to the pool of shares which could be granted under the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan resulting in a net number of 962,951 shares which were available as of December 31, 2010 for future issuance under the 2007 Incentive Plan.

On December 8, 2009, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a plan to repurchase up to $30.0 million of the Company’s common stock, depending upon market conditions and other factors, over the next three years. The repurchased shares are to be subsequently retired. 367,483 shares totaling $4.2 million were repurchased in 2010 under our authorized plan. As of December 31, 2010, the total number of common shares outstanding was approximately 9.2 million.

Common stock repurchases, under our authorized plan, in the fiscal year 2010 were as follows:

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ITEM 6.                    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table summarizes our selected consolidated financial data and operating information. The selected consolidated financial and operating data should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

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OVERVIEW

Forward-Looking Statements. This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding prospects or future results of operations or financial position, made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking. We use words such as anticipates, believes, expects, future, intends, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, among others, the effects on the airline industry and the global economy of events such as terrorist activity, changes in oil prices and other disruptions to the world markets; trends in the airline industry, including growth rates of markets and other economic factors; risks associated with owning and leasing jet engines and aircraft; our ability to successfully negotiate equipment purchases, sales and leases, to collect outstanding amounts due and to control costs and expenses; changes in interest rates and availability of capital, our ability to continue to meet the changing customer demands; regulatory changes affecting airline operations, aircraft maintenance, accounting standards and taxes; the market value of engines and other assets in our portfolio. These risks and uncertainties, as well as other risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from management’s expectations, are described in greater detail in Item 1A of Part I, “Risk Factors,” which, along with the previous discussion, describes some, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from management’s expectations.

General. Our core business is acquiring and leasing pursuant to operating leases, commercial aircraft engines and related aircraft equipment, and the selective sale of such engines, all of which we sometimes refer to as “equipment.” While at December 31, 2010, all of our leases were operating leases, the Company entered into a finance lease in January 2011. As of December 31, 2010, we had 62 lessees in 35 countries. Our portfolio is continually changing due to acquisitions and sales. As of December 31, 2010, our total lease portfolio consisted of 179 engines and related equipment, three aircraft and four spare engine parts packages with an aggregate net book value of $998.0 million. As of December 31, 2010, we also managed 16 engines and related equipment on behalf of other parties. On December 30, 2005, we entered into a joint venture called WOLF with Oasis International Leasing (USA), Inc., which is now known as Waha Capital PJSC. WOLF completed the purchase of two Airbus A340-313 aircraft from Boeing Aircraft Holding Company for a purchase price of $96.0 million. We actively manage our portfolio and structure our leases to maximize the residual values of our leased assets. Our leasing business focuses on popular Stage III commercial jet engines manufactured by CFMI, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce and International Aero Engines. These engines are the most widely used engines in the world, powering Airbus, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Bombardier and Embraer aircraft.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to residual values, estimated asset lives, impairments and bad debts. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

We believe the following critical accounting policies, grouped by our activities, affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:

Leasing Related Activities. Revenue from leasing of aircraft equipment is recognized as operating lease revenue over the terms of the applicable lease agreements. Where collection cannot be reasonably assured, for example, upon a lessee bankruptcy, we do not recognize revenue until cash is received. We also estimate and charge to income a provision for bad debts based on our experience in the business and with each specific customer and the level of past due accounts. The financial condition of our customers may deteriorate and result in actual losses exceeding the estimated allowances. In addition, any deterioration in the financial condition of our customers may adversely affect future lease revenues. As of December 31, 2010, all of our leases are accounted for as operating leases. Under an operating lease, we retain title to the leased equipment, thereby retaining the potential benefit and assuming the risk of the residual value of the leased equipment.

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We generally depreciate engines on a straight-line basis over 15 years to a 55% residual value. Spare parts packages are generally depreciated on a straight-line basis over 15 years to a 25% residual value. Aircraft are generally depreciated on a straight-line basis over 13-20 years to a 15%-17% residual value. For equipment which is unlikely to be repaired at the end of its current expected life, and is likely to be disassembled upon lease termination, we depreciate the equipment over its estimated life to a residual value based on an estimate of the wholesale value of the parts after disassembly. Currently, 47 engines having a net book value of $102.0 million are depreciated using this policy. It is our policy to review estimates regularly to more accurately expense the cost of equipment over the useful life of the engines.  On July 1, 2009 and again on July 1, 2010, we adjusted the depreciation for certain older engine types within the portfolio. The 2010 change in depreciation estimate resulted in a $2.0 million increase in depreciation in 2010 and on an annual basis will result in an increase in depreciation expense of $4.0 million per year assuming no change in our portfolio. The net effect of the 2010 change in depreciation estimate is a reduction in 2010 net income of $1.2 million or $0.13 in diluted earnings per share over what net income would have otherwise been had the change in depreciation estimate not been made. If useful lives or residual values are lower than those estimated by us, future write-downs may be recorded or a loss may be realized upon sale of the equipment.

Sales Related Activities. For equipment sold out of our lease portfolio, we recognize the gain or loss associated with the sale as revenue. Gains or losses consist of sales proceeds less the net book value of the equipment sold and any costs directly associated with the sale.

Asset Valuation. Long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles to be held and used are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable, and long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell. Impairment is identified by comparison of undiscounted forecasted cash flows, including estimated sales proceeds, over the life of the asset with the asset’s book value. If the forecasted undiscounted cash flows are less than the book value, we write the asset down to its fair value. We determine fair value by reference to independent appraisals, quoted market prices (e.g., an offer to purchase) and other factors. If the undiscounted forecasted cash flows and fair value of our long-lived assets decrease in the future we may incur impairment charges.

Accounting for Maintenance Expenditures and Maintenance Reserves. Use fees received are recognized in revenue as maintenance reserve revenue if they are not reimbursable to the lessee. Use fees that are reimbursable are recorded as a maintenance reserve liability until they are reimbursed to the lessee or the lease terminates, at which time they are recognized in revenue as maintenance reserve revenue. Our expenditures for maintenance are expensed as incurred. Expenditures that meet the criteria for capitalization are recorded as an addition to equipment recorded on the balance sheet.

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010 COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009

Revenue is summarized as follows:

Lease Rent Revenue. Our lease rent revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010, was flat with the comparable period in 2009. This primarily reflects lower average portfolio utilization in the current period, lower lease rates for certain engine types and the deferral of revenue related to certain customers for which revenue is recorded on a cash, rather than accrual, basis, offset by portfolio growth. Portfolio utilization is defined as the net book value of on-lease assets as a percentage of the net book value of total lease assets. The aggregate of net book value of equipment held for lease at December 31, 2010 and 2009, was $998.0 million and $976.8 million, respectively, an increase of 2.2%. At December 31, 2010, and 2009, respectively, approximately 90% and 85% of equipment by net book value was on-lease. The average utilization for the year ended December 31, 2010 was 86% compared to 89% in the prior year. During the year ended December 31, 2010, 16 engines were added to our lease portfolio at a total cost of $120.0 million (including capitalized costs). During the year ended December 31, 2009, 21 engines were added to our lease portfolio at a total cost of $214.1million (including capitalized costs).

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Maintenance Reserve Revenue. Our maintenance reserve revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010, decreased 24.5% to $34.8 million from $46.0 million for the comparable period in 2009. Eight long term leases terminated in 2010 compared with the termination of thirteen long term leases in the year ago period. Higher balances of maintenance reserves had accumulated for the long term leases that terminated in 2009 compared to those that terminated in the current period, resulting in the decrease in maintenance reserve revenue in the current year.

Gain on Sale of Leased Equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2010, we sold 7 engines and various engine-related equipment from the lease portfolio and one airframe for a net gain of $8.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2009, we sold 5 engines and various engine-related equipment from the lease portfolio for a net gain of $1.0 million.

Other Income. Our other income consists primarily of management fee income and lease administration fees, and increased $2.4 million from the prior year. The increase was primarily due to the sale of our interest in the SSAMC joint venture in November 2010 for $3.5 million, which generated a gain of $2.0 million in the current period.

Depreciation Expense. Depreciation expense increased $4.6 million or 10.5% to $48.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in 2009 due to increased lease portfolio value and changes in estimates of residual values on certain older engine types. On July 1, 2009 and again on July 1, 2010, we adjusted the depreciation for certain older engine types within the portfolio. It is our policy to review estimates regularly to reflect the cost of equipment over the useful life of these engines. The 2010 change in depreciation estimate resulted in a $2.0 million increase in depreciation in 2010. The net effect of the 2010 change in depreciation estimate is a reduction in 2010 net income of $1.2 million or $0.13 in diluted earnings per share over what net income would have otherwise been had the change in depreciation estimate not been made.

Write-down of Equipment. Write-down of equipment to their estimated fair values totaled $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, a decrease of $3.2 million from the $6.1 million recorded in the comparable period in 2009. A write-down of $2.7 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2010 to adjust the carrying values of engine parts held on consignment for which market conditions for the sale of parts has changed. Write-downs on held for use equipment to their estimated fair values totaled $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, due to the adjustment of carrying values for certain impaired engines within the portfolio to reflect estimated market values. A write-down of $3.0 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2009 due to a management decision to sell two engines and consign seven engines for part out and sale. Further write-downs of $3.1 million were recorded in the year ended December 31, 2009 to adjust the carrying values of engine parts held on consignment for which market conditions for the sale of parts has changed.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased 9.5% to $29.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in 2009 due mainly to increases in selling expenses ($0.7 million), accounting, legal and consulting fees ($0.7 million), employment related costs ($0.6 million), system conversion expenses ($0.5 million) and employee relocation costs ($0.3 million), which was offset partially by decreases in bad debt expense ($0.5 million) and insurance expense ($0.1 million).

Technical Expense. Technical expenses consist of the cost of engine repairs, engine thrust rental fees, outsourced technical support services, sublease engine rental expense, engine storage and freight costs. These expenses increased 13.6% to $8.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in 2009 due mainly to increases in engine maintenance costs due to higher repair activity ($1.3 million) and engine operating lease costs ($0.3 million), which was partially offset by decreases in outsourced technical support services expenses ($0.4 million) and engine thrust rental fees due to a decrease in the number of engines being operated at higher thrust levels under the CFM thrust rental program ($0.1 million).

Net Finance Costs. Net finance costs include interest expense, interest income and net (gain)/loss on debt extinguishment. Interest expense increased 13.6% to $40.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from the comparable period in 2009, due to an increase in average debt outstanding and an increase in the average notional value of interest rate swaps held throughout the period. Virtually all of our debt is tied to one-month U.S. dollar LIBOR which decreased from an average of 0.33% for the year ended December 31, 2009 to an average of 0.27% for the year ended December 31, 2010 (average of month-end rates). At December 31, 2010 and 2009, one-month LIBOR was 0.26% and 0.23%, respectively. To mitigate exposure to interest rate changes, we have entered into interest rate swap agreements. As of December 31, 2010, such swap agreements had notional outstanding amounts of $430.0 million, average remaining terms of between two and 51 months and fixed rates of between 2.10% and 5.05%.  In 2010 and 2009, $18.6 and $16.2 million was realized through the income statement as an increase in interest expense, respectively.

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Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2010, decreased to $0.2 million from $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, due to a decrease in cash deposit balances from the prior period.

We recorded $0.9 million as a gain upon extinguishment of debt in the year ended December 31, 2009 when we purchased $3.0 million original principal amount, representing $2.1 million principal outstanding as of May 15, 2009, of WEST’s Series 2005-A1 notes for a purchase price of $1.2 million. After write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and purchase discount of $0.06 million related to the notes, a gain on extinguishment of debt of $0.9 million was recorded in the period.

Income Taxes. Income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2010, decreased to $7.6 million from $10.0 million for the comparable period in 2009 reflecting decreased pre-tax income and the impact of discrete items booked in 2009. The overall effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2010 was 38.8% compared to 30.9% for the prior year. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company’s effective tax rate was reduced by $2.3 million related to a change in California state tax law during 2009 regarding state apportionment of income, which is effective 2011, and due to a change in the method used by the Company to allocate revenue to U.S. states. These changes resulted in a reduction in the long term deferred tax liability. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company also recognized an adjustment of $1.2 million increasing the tax provision in the period related to the tax treatment of individual employee non-performance based compensation costs in excess of $1.0 million annually. The adjustment was based on compensation earned in 2007, 2008 and 2009 that had not previously been recognized as non-deductible in the financial statements, by period as follows: 2007 $0.2 million, 2008 $0.5 million, 2009 $0.5 million. Our tax rate is subject to change based on changes in the mix of assets leased to domestic and foreign lessees, the proportions of revenue generated within and outside of California and numerous other factors, including changes in tax law.

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2008

Revenue is summarized as follows:

Lease Rent Revenue. Our lease rent revenue for the year ended December 31, 2009, decreased 0.03% to $102.39 million from $102.42 million for the comparable period in 2008. This decrease primarily reflects lower average portfolio utilization in the current period, lower lease rates for certain engine types and the deferral of revenue related to certain customers for which revenue is recorded on a cash, rather than accrual, basis, partially offset by portfolio growth. Portfolio utilization is defined as the net book value of on-lease assets as a percentage of the net book value of total lease assets. The aggregate of net book value of equipment held for lease at December 31, 2009 and 2008, was $976.8 million and $829.7 million, respectively, an increase of 17.7%. The ten engine sale to an investor group in September 2008 resulted in a reduction in portfolio net book value of $51.9 million, with the Company also recognizing nine months of lease rent revenue in 2008. At December 31, 2009, and 2008, respectively, approximately 85% and 91% of equipment by net book value was on-lease. The average utilization for the year ended December 31, 2009 was 89% compared to 93% in the prior year. During the year ended December 31, 2009, 21 engines were added to our lease portfolio at a total cost of $214.1 million (including capitalized costs). During the year ended December 31, 2008, 43 engines were added to our lease portfolio at a total cost of $232.4 million (including capitalized costs).

Maintenance Reserve Revenue. Our maintenance reserve revenue for the year ended December 31, 2009, increased 36.6% to $46.0 million from $33.7 million for the comparable period in 2008. Thirteen long term leases terminated in 2009 compared with the termination of fourteen long term leases in the year ago period. Higher balances of maintenance reserves had accumulated for the long term leases that terminated in 2009 compared to those that terminated in the year ago period, resulting in the increase in maintenance reserve revenue in the current year.

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Gain on Sale of Leased Equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2009, we sold 5 engines and various engine-related equipment from the lease portfolio for a net gain of $1.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we sold 13 engines, 2 helicopters and various engine-related equipment from the lease portfolio for a net gain of $12.8 million. The gain on sale in 2008 included the sale in the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of a portfolio of ten engines having a net book value of $51.9 million to an investor group for $63.0 million, contributing $11.1 million to gain on sale.

Other Income. Our other income consists primarily of management fee income and lease administration fees, and decreased $2.9 million from the prior year. The decrease was due to the inclusion in 2008 of the settlement of a claim for $1.0 million to resolve a litigation arising from a lessee default in the first quarter as well as the recording of a gain of $2.2 million related to an insurance casualty loss in the fourth quarter.

Depreciation Expense. Depreciation expense increased $6.7 million or 17.8% to $44.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, from the comparable period in 2008 due to increased lease portfolio value and changes in estimates of residual values on certain older engine types. On April 1 and July 1, 2008 and again on July 1, 2009, we adjusted the depreciation for certain older engine types within the portfolio. It is our policy to review estimates regularly to reflect the cost of equipment over the useful life of these engines. The 2009 change in depreciation estimate resulted in a $4.5 million increase in depreciation in 2009. The net effect of the 2009 change in depreciation estimate is a reduction in 2009 net income of $2.9 million or $0.32 in diluted earnings per share over what net income would have otherwise been had the change in depreciation estimate not been made.

Write-down of Equipment. Write-down of equipment to their estimated fair values totaled $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, a decrease of $0.6 million from the $6.7 million recorded in the comparable period in 2008. A write-down of $3.0 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2009 due to a management decision to sell two engines and consign seven engines for part out and sale. Further write-downs of $3.1 million were recorded in the year ended December 31, 2009 to adjust the carrying values of engine parts held on consignment for which market conditions for the sale of parts has changed. Write-downs on held for use equipment to their estimated fair values totaled $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, due to the adjustment of carrying values for certain impaired engines within the portfolio to reflect estimated market values. There was an additional write-down of $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 due to a management decision to consign six engines for part out and sale. Further write-downs of $0.6 million were recorded in the year ended December 31, 2008 to adjust the carrying values of engine parts held on consignment for which market conditions for the sale of parts has changed.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased 1.2% to $26.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, from the comparable period in 2008 due mainly to decreases in employee severance costs ($0.7 million), employment related costs ($0.3 million) and accounting and legal services ($0.2 million), which was offset partially by increases in stock-based compensation ($0.7 million), bad debt expense ($0.2 million) and servicing fees for regional engine portfolio ($0.2 million).

Technical Expense. Technical expenses consist of the cost of engine repairs, engine thrust rental fees, outsourced technical support services, sublease engine rental expense, engine storage and freight costs. These expenses increased 94.6% to $7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, from the comparable period in 2008 due mainly to increases in engine thrust rental fees due to an increase in the number of engines being operated at higher thrust levels under the CFM thrust rental program ($1.4 million), engine maintenance costs due to higher repair activity ($1.0 million), engine operating lease costs ($0.5 million) and outsourced technical support services expenses due to higher lease transaction activity ($0.3 million).

Net Finance Costs. Net finance costs include interest expense, interest income and net (gain)/loss on debt extinguishment. Interest expense decreased 6.8% to $36.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, from the comparable period in 2008, due to decreased interest rates, which was partially offset by an increase in average debt outstanding. Virtually all of our debt is tied to one-month U.S. dollar LIBOR which decreased from an average of 2.54% for the year ended December 31, 2008 to an average of 0.33% for the year ended December 31, 2009 (average of month-end rates). At December 31, 2009 and 2008, one-month LIBOR was 0.23% and 0.44%, respectively. To mitigate exposure to interest rate changes, we have entered into interest rate swap agreements. As of December 31, 2009, such swap agreements had notional outstanding amounts of $528.0 million, average remaining terms of between seven and 63 months and fixed rates of between 2.10% and 5.05%.  In 2009 and 2008, $16.2 and $5.2 million was realized through the income statement as an increase in interest expense, respectively.

Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2009, decreased to $0.3 million from $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, due to a decrease in interest rates and a shift in deposit funds to U.S. treasury securities. In late 2008, we moved substantial deposits to U.S. treasury securities to avoid risk of loss.

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We recorded $0.9 million as a gain upon extinguishment of debt in the year ended December 31, 2009 when we purchased $3.0 million original principal amount, representing $2.1 million principal outstanding as of May 15, 2009, of WEST’s Series 2005-A1 notes for a purchase price of $1.2 million. After write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and purchase discount of $0.06 million related to the notes, a gain on extinguishment of debt of $0.9 million was recorded in the period.

Income Taxes. Income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2009, decreased to $10.0 million from $15.4 million for the comparable period in 2008 reflecting decreased pre-tax income and the impact of discrete items booked in 2009. The overall effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2009 was 30.9% compared to 36.7% for the prior year. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company’s effective tax rate was reduced by $2.3 million related to a change in California state tax law during 2009 regarding state apportionment of income, which is effective 2011, and due to a change in the method used by the Company to allocate revenue to U.S. states. These changes resulted in a reduction in the long term deferred tax liability. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company also recognized an adjustment of $1.2 million increasing the tax provision in the period related to the tax treatment of individual employee non-performance based compensation costs in excess of $1.0 million annually. The adjustment was based on compensation earned in 2007, 2008 and 2009 that had not previously been recognized as non-deductible in the financial statements, by period as follows: 2007 $0.2 million, 2008 $0.5 million, 2009 $0.5 million. Our tax rate is subject to change based on changes in the mix of assets leased to domestic and foreign lessees, the proportions of revenue generated within and outside of California and numerous other factors, including changes in tax law.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In June 2009, the FASB issued an amendment to FASB ASC 810, Consolidation, formerly SFAS No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R). FASB ASC 810 is intended to (1) address the effects on certain provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 46 (revised December 2003), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, as a result of the elimination of the qualifying special-purpose entity concept in FASB ASC 860, and (2) constituent concerns about the application of certain key provisions of Interpretation 46(R), including those in which the accounting and disclosures under the Interpretation do not always provide timely and useful information about an enterprise’s involvement in a variable interest entity. This statement was applied as of January 1, 2010, and did not have an impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In September 2009, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2009-13 (“ASU 2009-13”), which addressed the accounting for multiple-deliverable arrangements to enable vendors to account for products or services (deliverables) separately rather than as a combined unit. ASU 2009-13 will require the companies to allocate the overall consideration to each deliverable by using a best estimate of the selling price of individual deliverables in the arrangement in the absence of vendor-specific objective evidence or other third-party evidence of the selling price. ASU 2009-13 will be effective prospectively for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. The adoption of ASU 2009-13 did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In January 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-6, Improving Disclosures About Fair Value Measurements, which requires reporting entities to make new disclosures about recurring or nonrecurring fair value measurements including significant transfers into and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements and information on purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements on a gross basis in the reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2010-6 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for Level 3 reconciliation disclosures which are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2010. Other than requiring additional disclosures, the adoption of ASU 2010-6 did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In July 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-20, Disclosures about the Credit Quality of Financing Receivables and the Allowance for Credit Losses.  The new disclosure guidance will significantly expand the existing requirements and will lead to greater transparency into a company’s exposure to credit losses from lending arrangements.  The extensive new disclosures of information as of the end of a reporting period will become effective for both interim and annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2010.  Specific items regarding activity that occurred before the issuance of the ASU, such as the allowance roll-forward and modification disclosures, will be required for periods beginning after December 15, 2010.  The adoption of ASU 2010-20 did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

During 2010, the FASB issued several ASU’s — ASU No. 2010-01 through ASU No. 2010-29. Except for those ASU’s discussed above, the ASU’s entail technical corrections to existing guidance or affect guidance related to specialized industries or entities and therefore do not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations.

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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We finance our growth through borrowings secured by our equipment lease portfolio. Cash of approximately $174.8 million, $397.6 million and $394.7 million, in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, was derived from this activity. In these same time periods $170.0 million, $312.3 million and $321.3 million, respectively, was used to pay down related debt. Cash flow from operating activities generated $56.6 million, $88.2 million and $52.1 million in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively

Our primary use of funds is for the purchase of equipment for lease. Purchases of equipment (including capitalized costs) totaled $121.5 million, $205.1 million and $233.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

Cash flows from operations are driven significantly by payments made under our lease agreements, which comprise lease revenue and maintenance reserves, and are offset by interest expense. Cash received as maintenance reserve payments for some of our engines on lease are restricted per our debt arrangements. The lease revenue stream, in the short-term, is at fixed rates while virtually all of our debt is at variable rates. If interest rates increase, it is unlikely we could increase lease rates in the short term and this would cause a reduction in our earnings and operating cash flows. Revenue and maintenance reserves are also affected by the amount of equipment off lease. Approximately 90%, by book value, of our assets were on-lease at December 31, 2010 compared to approximately 85% at December 31, 2009. The average utilization rate for the year ended December 31, 2010 was 86% compared to 89% a year ago. If there is an increase in off-lease rates or deterioration in lease rates that are not offset by reductions in interest rates, there will be a negative impact on earnings and cash flows from operations.

At December 31, 2010, notes payable consists of loans totaling $731.6 million (net of discounts of $2.6 million) payable over periods of 10 months to approximately 15 years with interest rates varying between approximately 1.5% and 8.0% (excluding the effect of our interest rate derivative instruments). At December 31, 2010 and at December 31, 2009, we had warehouse and revolving credit facilities totaling approximately $440.0 million. At December 31, 2010, and December 31, 2009, respectively, approximately $54.2 million and $72.1 million were available under these combined facilities. The decrease in availability in 2010 was due to the drawdown of funds from the facilities to support engine purchases.

The significant facilities are described below.

At December 31, 2010, we had a $240.0 million revolving credit facility to finance the acquisition of aircraft engines for lease as well as for general working capital purposes. We closed on this facility on November 20, 2009 and the proceeds of the new facility, net of $3.5 million in debt issuance costs, was used to pay off the balance remaining from our prior revolving facility. As of December 31, 2010, $54.0 million was available under this facility. The revolving facility ends in November 2012. The interest rate on this facility at December 31, 2010 was one-month LIBOR plus 3.50%. Under the revolver facility, all subsidiaries except Willis Engine Securitization Trust (“WEST”) and WEST Engine Funding LLC jointly and severally guarantee payment and performance of the terms of the loan agreement. The guarantee would be triggered by a default under the agreement. Effective January 21, 2011, we exercised our option under the facility to increase the size of this facility to $285.0 million.

On January 11, 2010, we closed on a new term loan for a four year term totaling $22.0 million, the proceeds of which were used to pay down the balance under our revolving credit facility. At December 31, 2010, $20.9 million was outstanding under this loan. Interest is payable at a fixed rate of 4.50% and principal and interest is paid quarterly. This loan is secured by three engines.

On August 9, 2005, we closed an asset-backed securitization through WEST, a bankruptcy remote Delaware Statutory Trust, which is the issuer of various series of term notes and warehouse notes secured by a portfolio of engines. At December 31, 2010, $300.4 million of WEST term notes and $199.8 million of WEST warehouse notes were outstanding.  The WEST term notes are divided into $114.9 million Series 2005-A1 notes, $167.5 million Series 2008-A1 notes and $18.1 million Series 2005-B1 notes. The WEST warehouse notes are divided into $174.8 million Series 2007-A2 notes and $25.0 million Series 2007-B2 notes.

The Series 2005-A1 and Series 2005-B1 notes were issued on August 9, 2005 in the original principal amounts of $200.0 million and $28.3 million, respectively. The interest rate on the Series 2005-A1 and Series 2005-B1 notes equals one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 1.25% and 6.00%, respectively. The Series 2005-A1 term notes’ expected maturity is July 2018 and the Series 2005-B1 term notes’ expected maturity is July 2020.

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The Series 2008-A1 and Series 2008-B1 notes were issued on March 28, 2008 in the original principal amounts of $212.4 million and $20.3 million, respectively. The interest rate on the Series 2008-A1 and Series 2008-B1 notes equals one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 1.50% and 3.50%, respectively. The Series 2008-A1 term notes’ expected maturity is March 2021 and the Series 2008-B1 term notes’ expected maturity is March 2023.

The Series 2007-A2 and Series 2007-B2 notes were issued on December 13, 2007 in the original principal amounts of $175.0 million and $25.0 million, respectively. The interest rate on the Series 2007-A2 notes and the Series 2007-B2 notes at December 31, 2010 is equal to one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 1.25% and 2.75%, respectively. Effective as of February 14, 2011, those interest rates will increase to one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 1.75% and 3.75%, respectively.  The Series 2007-A2 and Series 2007-B2 notes originally allowed for borrowings of up to $200.0 million in the aggregate through December 15, 2010. Effective as of February 14, 2011, the outstanding principal balances of $174.8 million and $25.0 million borrowed under these notes were converted to term loans which amortize on a monthly basis until their maturity. The Series 2007-A2 notes’ expected maturity is January 2024 and the Series 2007-B2 notes’ expected maturity is January 2026.

WEST also entered into a Senior Liquidity Facility on December 13, 2007 which expires on the final maturity date of the Series 2008-A1 term notes in March 2021. The maximum facility size is 4% of the outstanding Series 2007-A2 notes and Series 2008-A1 notes. This facility replaced the requirement to maintain 4% cash reserves for the 2007-A2 notes and the Series 2008-A1 notes. The facility may be drawn on any payment date should the cash flow at WEST be insufficient to pay interest on the Series 2007-A2 notes, Series 2008-A1 notes and any required hedge payments. A commitment fee is payable on the facility. The establishment of this facility resulted in the release of $7.1 million of cash held previously in the Senior Restricted Cash Account in December 2007.

The assets of WEST and WEST Engine Funding LLC are not available to satisfy our obligations or any of our affiliates. WEST is consolidated for financial statement presentation purposes. WEST’s ability to make distributions and pay dividends to us is subject to the prior payments of its debt and other obligations and WEST’s maintenance of adequate reserves and capital. Under WEST, cash is collected in a restricted account, which is used to service the debt and any remaining amounts, after debt service and defined expenses, are distributed to us. Additionally, maintenance reserve payments and lease security deposits are accumulated in restricted accounts and are not available for general use. Cash from maintenance reserve payments is held in the restricted cash account and is subject to a minimum balance established annually based on an engine portfolio maintenance reserve study provided by a third party. Any excess maintenance reserve amounts remain within the restricted cash accounts and may be utilized for the purchase of new engines.

On June 30, 2008, we purchased the WEST Series 2008-B1 notes for $19.8 million (the then-unpaid principal amount of the 2008-B1 notes) with the proceeds of a $20.0 million term loan made by an affiliate of the prior note holder.  This term loan is secured by a pledge of the WEST Series 2008-B1 notes to the lender.  The term loan was originally for a term of two years with maturity on July 1, 2010 with no amortization with all amounts due at maturity. On May 3, 2010, the Company extended the maturity date from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 and amended the covenants for this term loan to conform to that of the $240.0 million revolving credit facility. On December 29, 2010, the Company further extended the maturity date from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011 and increased the interest rate for the term loan from one-month LIBOR plus 3.50% to one-month LIBOR plus 4.00%.  Additionally, this term loan will now amortize on a monthly basis, with a $15.2 million bullet payment required at the December 31, 2011 maturity date.

On January 18, 2011, we purchased the WEST Series 2005-B1 notes for $17.9 million (the then-unpaid principal amount of the 2005-B1 notes) with the proceeds of a term loan made by the bank which was the prior note holder.  This term loan is secured by a pledge of the WEST Series 2005-B1 notes to the lender.  Interest on this term loan is one-month LIBOR plus a margin of 3.00%.  The term of this loan is five years and the loan amortization is consistent with the amortization on the underlying WEST Series 2005-B1 notes, with a bullet payment required at the end of the five year term.

At December 31, 2010 and 2009, one-month LIBOR was 0.26% and 0.23%, respectively.

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Approximately $74.2 million of our debt is repayable during 2011 which includes the $20.0 million term loan secured by the WEST Series 2008-B1 Note. Such repayments primarily consist of scheduled installments due under term loans. Repayments are funded by the use of unrestricted cash reserves and from cash flows from ongoing operations. The table below summarizes our contractual commitments at December 31, 2010:

We have estimated the interest payments due under long-term debt by applying the interest rates applicable at December 31, 2010 to the remaining debt, adjusted for the estimated debt repayments identified in the table above. Actual interest payments made will vary due to changes in the rates for one-month LIBOR. The interest estimate excludes the effect of any derivative instruments in place at the balance sheet date.

Virtually all of the above debt requires our ongoing compliance with the covenants of each financing, including debt/equity ratios, minimum tangible net worth and minimum interest coverage ratios, and other eligibility criteria including customer and geographic concentration restrictions. In addition, under these facilities, we can typically borrow 70% to 83% of an engine’s net book value and approximately 70% of spare part’s net book value. Therefore we must have other available funds for the balance of the purchase price of any new equipment to be purchased or we will not be permitted to draw on these facilities. Many of our facilities are also cross-defaulted against other facilities. If we do not comply with the covenants or eligibility requirements, we may not be permitted to borrow additional funds and accelerated payments may become necessary. Additionally, much of the above debt is secured by engines and to the extent that engines are sold, repayment of that portion of the debt could be required. We were in compliance with all covenants at December 31, 2010.

We have made purchase commitments to secure the purchase of five engines for a gross purchase price of $45.0 million, for delivery in 2011. As at December 31, 2010, non-refundable deposits paid related to this purchase commitment were $1.4 million. In October 2006, we entered into an agreement with CFM International (“CFM”) to purchase new spare aircraft engines. The agreement specifies that, subject to availability, we may purchase up to a total of 45 CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B spare engines over a five year period, with options to acquire up to an additional 30 engines. Our 2009 purchase orders with CFM for three engines were deferred and are included in our 2011 commitments to purchase.

We entered into a new lease effective November 1, 2007 for our offices in Novato, California that covers approximately 18,375 square feet of office space. The total remaining rent commitment is approximately $2.2 million and expires February 28, 2015. The sub-lease of our premises in San Diego, California expires in October 2013. Our Shanghai, China office lease expires in December 2011. Our Blagnac, France office lease expires in December 2011.

We believe our equity base, internally generated funds and existing debt facilities are sufficient to maintain our level of operations through 2011. A decline in the level of internally generated funds, such as could result if the amount of equipment off-lease increases or there is a decrease in availability under our existing debt facilities, would impair our ability to sustain our level of operations. We are discussing additions to our capital base with our commercial and investment banks. If we are not able to access additional capital, our ability to continue to grow our asset base consistent with historical trends will be impaired and our future growth limited to that which can be funded from internally generated capital.

Management of Interest Rate Exposure

At December 31, 2010, all but $22.4 million of our borrowings were on a variable rate basis at various interest rates tied to one-month LIBOR. Our equipment leases are generally structured at fixed rental rates for specified terms. Increases in interest rates could narrow or result in a negative spread, between the rental revenue we realize under our leases and the interest rate that we pay under our borrowings. We have entered into interest rate derivative instruments to mitigate our exposure to interest rate risk and not to speculate or trade in these derivative products. We currently have interest rate swap agreements which have notional outstanding amounts of $430.0 million, with remaining terms of between two and 51 months and fixed rates of between 2.10% and 5.05%. The fair value of the swaps at December 31, 2010 and 2009 was negative $14.3 million and negative $7.9 million, respectively, representing a net liability for us.

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We record derivative instruments at fair value as either an asset or liability. We use derivative instruments (primarily interest rate swaps) to manage the risk of interest rate fluctuation. While substantially all our derivative transactions are entered into for the purposes described above, hedge accounting is only applied where specific criteria have been met and it is practicable to do so. In order to apply hedge accounting, the transaction must be designated as a hedge and the hedge relationship must be highly effective. The hedging instrument’s effectiveness is assessed utilizing regression analysis at the inception of the hedge and on at least a quarterly basis throughout its life. All of the transactions that we have designated as hedges are accounted for as cash flow hedges. The effective portion of the gain or loss on a derivative instrument designated as a cash flow hedge is reported as a component of other comprehensive income and is reclassified into earnings in the period during which the transaction being hedged affects earnings. The ineffective portion of these hedges flows through earnings in the current period. The hedge accounting for these derivative instrument arrangements increased interest expense by $18.6 million and $16.2 million in 2010 and 2009, respectively. This incremental cost for the swaps effective for hedge accounting was included in interest expense for the respective periods.

We will be exposed to risk in the event of non-performance of the interest rate hedge counter-parties. We anticipate that we may hedge additional amounts of our floating rate debt during the next year.

Related Party and Similar Transactions

Gavarnie Holding, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Gavarnie”) owned by Charles F. Willis, IV, purchased the stock of Aloha Island Air, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, (“Island Air”) from Aloha AirGroup, Inc. (“Aloha”) on May 11, 2004. Charles F. Willis, IV is the President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors and owns approximately 30% of our common stock. As of December 31, 2010, Island Air leases three DeHaviland DHC-8-100 aircraft and four spare engines from us. The aircraft and engines on lease to Island Air have a net book value of $3.8 million at December 31, 2010. Beginning in 2006 Island Air experienced cash flow difficulties, which affected their payments to us due to a fare war commenced by a competitor, their dependence on tourism which has suffered from the current economic environment as well as volatile fuel prices. The Board of Directors approved lease rent deferrals which were accounted for as a reduction in lease revenue in the applicable periods. Because of the question regarding collectability of amounts due under these leases, lease rent revenue for these leases have been recorded on a cash basis until such time as collectability becomes reasonably assured. After taking into account the deferred amounts, Island Air owes us $2.8 million in overdue rent. We hold letters of credit for $0.2 million which may be used to partially offset our claims against Island Air.

In October 2010, Island Air purchased one airframe from us, generating a net gain of $0.4 million. Effective January 2, 2011 we converted the operating leases with Island Air to a finance lease, with a principal amount of $7.0 million, under which they have resumed monthly payments. This transaction will increase operating income by $3.2 million which will be recognized over the five year term of the finance lease. We are also discussing a program for them to commence payments of the deferred amounts under the previous operating leases on a reduced basis. This program is dependent on their obtaining substantially similar concessions from their other major creditors.

We entered into a Consignment Agreement dated January 22, 2008, with J.T. Power, LLC (“J.T. Power”), an entity whose majority shareholder, Austin Willis, is the son of our President and Chief Executive Officer, and directly and indirectly, a shareholder of ours as well as a Director of the Company. According to the terms of the Consignment Agreement, J.T. Power is responsible to market and sell parts from the teardown of three engines with a book value of $4.2 million. During the year ended December 31, 2010, sales of consigned parts were $45,100. Under this agreement, J.T. Power provides a minimum guarantee of net consignment proceeds of $3.3 million by January 22, 2012. Based on current estimated consignment proceeds, J.T. Power would be obligated to pay $0.8 million under the guarantee in January 2012. On November 17, 2008, we entered into a Consignment Agreement with J.T. Power in which they are responsible to market and sell parts from the teardown of one engine with a book value of $1.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2010, sales of consigned parts were $24,900. On February 25, 2009, we entered into a Consignment Agreement with J.T. Power in which they are responsible to market and sell parts from the teardown of one engine with a book value of $133,400. During the year ended December 31, 2010, sales of consigned parts were $4,100. On July 31, 2009, we entered into a Consignment Agreement with J.T. Power in which they are responsible to market and sell parts from the teardown of one engine with a book value of $0.5 million. During the year ended December 31, 2010, sales of consigned parts were $0.2 million. On July 27, 2006, we entered into an Aircraft Engine Agency Agreement with J.T. Power, in which we will, on a non-exclusive basis, provide engine lease opportunities with respect to available spare engines at J.T. Power. J.T. Power will pay us a fee based on a percentage of the rent collected by J.T. Power for the duration of the lease including renewals thereof. We earned no revenue during the year ended December 31, 2010 under this program.

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The Company entered into an Independent Contractor Agreement dated September 9, 2009 with Hans Jorg Hunziker, a member of our Board of Directors.  Under this Agreement, Mr. Hunziker will provide services in connection with the identification and qualification of potential investors in our equity securities.  The board has determined that, notwithstanding this limited assignment, Mr. Hunziker remains an independent director. During 2010, the Company incurred $39,400 in consulting fees related to this Agreement. This Agreement expired, by its terms, on October 31, 2010.

ITEM 7A.              QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Our primary market risk exposure is that of interest rate risk. A change in LIBOR rates would affect our cost of borrowing. Increases in interest rates, which may cause us to raise the implicit rates charged to our customers, could result in a reduction in demand for our leases. Alternatively, we may price our leases based on market rates so as to keep the fleet on-lease and suffer a decrease in our operating margin due to interest costs that we are unable to pass on to our customers. All but $22.4 million of our outstanding debt is variable rate debt. We estimate that for every one percent increase or decrease in our variable rate debt (net of derivative instruments), annual interest expense would increase or decrease $2.8 million (in 2009, $2.0 million).

We hedge a portion of our borrowings, effectively fixing the rate of these borrowings. This hedging activity helps protect us against reduced margins on longer term fixed rate leases. Based on the implied forward rates for one-month LIBOR, we expect interest expense will be increased by approximately $9.3 million for the year ending December 31, 2011, as a result of our hedges. Such hedging activities may limit our ability to participate in the benefits of any decrease in interest rates, but may also protect us from increases in interest rates. Furthermore, since lease rates tend to vary with interest rate levels, it is possible that we can adjust lease rates for the effect of change in interest rates at the termination of leases. Other financial assets and liabilities are at fixed rates.

We are also exposed to currency devaluation risk. During 2010, 2009, and 2008, respectively, 78%, 79%, and 80% of our total lease rent revenues came from non-United States domiciled lessees. All of our leases require payment in U.S. dollars. If these lessees’ currency devalues against the U.S. dollar, the lessees could potentially encounter difficulty in making their lease payments.

ITEM 8.                       FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The information required by this item is submitted as a separate section of this report beginning on page 42.

ITEM 9.                       CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A.              CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

(a) Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. Based on management’s evaluation (with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)), as of the end of the period covered by this report, our CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)), are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Inherent Limitations on Controls

Management, including the CEO and CFO, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent or detect all error and fraud. Any control system, no matter how well designed and operated, is based upon certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that its objectives will be met.  Further, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected.  The design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs.

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Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.  Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Our internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that: (a) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of assets; (b) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and Board of Directors; and (c) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounted principles.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010. In making this assessment, we used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based on this assessment our management believes that, as of December 31, 2010, our internal control over financial reporting is effective under those criteria.

KPMG LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the Company’s financial statements included in this Annual Report, issued an audit report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. KPMG’s audit report appears on page 43.

(b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting. There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during our fourth fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2010 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B.              OTHER INFORMATION

None.

PART III

ITEM 10.                DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

We have adopted a Standards of Ethical Conduct Policy (“Code of Ethics”) that applies to all employees and directors including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. The Code of Ethics is filed in Exhibit 14.1 and is also available on our website at www.willislease.com.

The remainder of the information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

ITEM 11.                EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

ITEM 12.                SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement. The information in Item 5 of this report regarding our Equity Compensation Plans is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 13.                CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 14.     PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

We were billed the following amounts by our principal accountant:

Amounts billed under All other fees for 2010 are primarily for professional services rendered in providing international tax consulting services.

The remaining information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

PART IV

ITEM 15.     EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) (1) Financial Statements

The response to this portion of Item 15 is submitted as a separate section of this report beginning on page 42.

(a) (2) Financial Statement Schedules

Schedule I, Parent Company Financial Statements, and Schedule II, Valuation Accounts, are submitted as a separate section of this report starting on page 71.

All other financial statement schedules have been omitted as the required information is not pertinent to the Registrant or is not material or because the required information is included in the Financial Statements and Notes thereto.

(a) (3), (b) and (c):  Exhibits:  The response to this portion of Item 15 is submitted below.

EXHIBITS

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*            Portions of these exhibits have been omitted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment and the redacted material has been filed separately with the Commission.

Financial Statements are submitted as a separate section of this report beginning on page 42.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

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INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors and Shareholders

Willis Lease Finance Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Willis Lease Finance Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2010.  In connection with our audits of the consolidated financial statements, we also have audited financial statement schedules I and II.  We have also audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedules, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Willis Lease Finance Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the results of their operations and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2010, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the related financial statement schedules, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.  Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.