David Berkery
The Grace Building
1114 Avenue of the Americas
32nd Floor
New York, New York 10036
David is a partner and co-head of the Aviation Finance Team. David is tri-qualified in New York, England & Wales and Ireland, and his practice focuses on all aspects of aviation leasing and financing including portfolio acquisitions, asset backed securitizations, warehouse facilities, joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, formal and informal restructurings and unsecured loans.
Experience Highlights
Castlelake in connection with the acquisition of 8 aircraft on lease to Avianca from a syndicate of lenders
AerCap Ireland Limited and its affiliates in connection with the sale of a portfolio of 8 aircraft on-lease to another leading leasing company
Castlelake in connection with the conversion of 6 leases with Tampa Cargo from operating leases to finance leases
Bank of America’s leasing platform with the sale of two aircraft on lease to WestJet to a leading leasing company
New Pacific Airways, a start-up airline with transpacific operations, in multiple senior secured loans to finance acquisitions as it expands its fleet
New Pacific Airways, a start-up airline with transpacific operations, in various aircraft purchase and lease transactions to grow its fleet
RAVN Alaska, a regional airline operating in Alaska, in multiple aircraft acquisitions and back-leverage transactions
$655 million aircraft-backed securitization (ABS) of 27 aircraft; the first aircraft ABS to close following the emergence of COVID-19
Migration of a portfolio of 40 aircraft onto the Global Aircraft Trust System (GATS), the largest single migration onto the GATS to-date
Irish aircraft leasing company on the establishment of a $3 billion aviation leasing platform formed through a joint venture with a U.S. investment management firm
Syndicate of lenders providing a $3 billion warehouse facility to allow Global Jet Capital to, among other things, acquire a 350 aircraft business jet leasing portfolio from General Electric and representing Deutsche Bank as underwriter of multiple ABS transactions used to refinance that facility
Canadian pension and insurance fund manager as investor in a sidecar joint venture with an Irish aircraft leasing company, establishing a new $2 billion aircraft leasing platform
$515 million ABS of 79 aircraft; the first of the new generation ABS to close following the global financial crisis
Shareholders and management on the creation of Elix Aviation Management, a brand new aircraft management platform within the Elix Aviation group
Underwriters on the securitization of a $971 million loan portfolio secured by 159 aircraft
Credentials
- Trinity College Dublin, L.L.M., with honors, 2003
- University College Dublin, B.C.L., with honors, 2002
- Chambers USA, Transportation: Aviation: Finance (Nationwide), 2023 and 2024
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JD Supra Reader’s Choice Awards, Top Author – Transportation, 2023
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Chambers Global, “Foreign Expertise Based Abroad in USA,” in Banking & Finance (Ireland), 2024; Banking & Finance (Ireland), 2022
- Chambers and Partners, “Up and Coming Partner,” 2020 and 2021
- Chambers and Partners, “Foreign Expert in New York Law,” 2020 and 2021
- Legal 500 U.S., “Next Generation Partner” in Transport: Aviation and Air Travel: Finance, 2023 and 2024; Transport: Aviation and Air Travel: Finance, 2022; Finance: Commercial Lending, 2023
- Legal 500, “Next Generation Partner,” 2021
- Legal 500, “Rising Star,” 2020
- Lecturer on the Law Society of Ireland’s Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance Course
- Frequent panelist at industry conferences including Airline Economics conferences (Dublin, London, New York, Hong Kong), ISHKA conference (Dublin) and Airfinance Journal conference (New York)
- New York
- England & Wales
- Ireland
- InsightSeptember 19, 2024
V&E+ Ventures
- InsightSeptember 9, 2024
- Press ReleaseSeptember 9, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 6, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 15, 2024
- InsightJanuary 23, 2024
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- Vinson & Elkins Aviation Finance 2023 Recap: Top 5 Headline Events that Shaped the Aviation IndustryInsightDecember 22, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2023
- InsightMay 23, 2023
- InsightMay 4, 2023
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightJanuary 30, 2023
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightNovember 17, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightSeptember 14, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightAugust 25, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightAugust 17, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- Rankings & AwardsJune 16, 2022
- InsightMay 23, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- InsightMarch 29, 2022
V&E Aviation Finance Update
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 17, 2022
- Press ReleaseJanuary 18, 2022
- “Recent Private Equity Investment in Aviation,” Airfinance Journal, August 2021
- “The Benefits of the Global Aircraft Trading System to Secured Lenders,” Airfinance Journal, March 2021 (co-authored)
- “Trends and Developments in Aviation Finance & Leasing,” Chambers Global Practice Guide, August 2020 (co-authored)
- “An Introduction to the Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS),” Airfinance Journal, July 2019
- “Structural Developments in Aircraft ABS Transactions,” Airfinance Journal, July 2018