Richard J. I. Stock

Clients benefit from Richard’s particular interest in airline operational matters; he has negotiated long-term engine maintenance agreements and inventory technical management agreements with total revenues exceeding US$9 billion.

Additionally, investors enlist Richard’s insight on strategically important projects, including the establishment of new airlines, the re-purposing of existing airlines and the establishment of aircraft and/or engine leasing platforms.

Financing Projects

Represented:

• Various financial institutions in the financing of narrowbody aircraft already on lease to airlines in different locations around the world.
• Various lessors on the financing (on a portfolio basis) of aircraft on lease to airlines in different locations around the world.
• An airline in a sale-and-leaseback programme involving a fleet of wide-body aircraft with an aggregate value of approximately US$1 billion.
• An airline in a sale-and-leaseback programme involving a fleet of narrowbody aircraft with an aggregate value exceeding US$1.2 billion.
• An airline with a sale-and-leaseback programme involving six wide-body aircraft with an aggregate value of approximately US$900 million.
• An airline with a tax-lease programme involving a mixed fleet of aircraft with an aggregate value exceeding US$700 million.
• An airline in the PDP financing of three wide-body aircraft.

Strategic Investment Projects

Represented:

• A shareholder in a joint-venture to establish a dedicated express-freight airline and its subsequent restructuring.
• A shareholder in the restructuring of an existing airline to create a general freight airline.
• An investor in the establishment of an engine-leasing platform.
• A Hong Kong-based airline on the restructuring of its joint venture express-freight airline, Air Hong Kong, and the conversion of the existing joint venture arrangement into a service agreement by which Air Hong Kong will provide air services to DHL on a long-term basis.

Aircraft Lease Restructuring

Represented:

• A leading airline and its group companies on the restructuring of over 150 lease financing transactions.
• A regional airline on the restructuring of lease agreements for its fleet of aircraft.
• A leading airline on the restructuring of its aircraft purchase arrangements, including wide-body aircraft, narrowbody aircraft and associated engine acquisition and maintenance arrangements.

Commercial Agreements

Represented:

• An MRO in the acquisition of an engine overhaul facility and the related technology sourcing and branding arrangements.
• An airline in the acquisition, through four different contracts with three different suppliers, of US$400 million in aircraft seats.
• An investor acquiring a substantial interest in a general freight airline.
• An investor considering whether to acquire a franchise for a low-cost carrier located in Asia.

PBH and Other Service Contracts

Represented:

• A leading airline on a series of long-term engine maintenance agreements with a broad range of OEM and non-OEM service providers and scheduled revenues in excess of US$9 billion.
• A regional airline on an RPFH Agreement to support the operation of a fleet of GEnx 1B engines on lease from an international lessor.
• An airline on a series of airframe maintenance service agreements.
• Various airlines on the establishment of inventory technical arrangement programmes.

• ‘Richard is one of the best in the world at his craft. He is highly customer-focused and very focused on delivering quality services.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Richard has a broad depth of experience that is reflected in him being one of the go-to lawyers.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘He is able to quickly understand the commercial drivers behind transactions and provide considered advice, balancing the risk priorities.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Richard has built a strong team to handle all the various legal documentation needs that we may have with aircraft financing.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Richard brings his significant experience in APAC business jet deals, together with his deep understanding of the needs of financing banks to the table at each deal.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Extremely responsive and dependable’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘”Richard Stock and Evelyn Lok have worked for many years with our team. They know exactly how we work. We save lots of time by working with them. We have built a high level of trust over time. They pay lots of attention to the details and they have a very effective team behind to manage the transaction.”’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘”Richard knows all of the players and was an invaluable asset for us.”’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘Richard Stock is level-headed and good at taking an objective view of sensitive situations.’ – Chambers Greater China Region
• ‘Technical expertise’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Knowledge of the common negotiation process with aircraft, engine manufacturers and lessors’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘The team, led by Richard Stock, is staffed with seasoned aviation professionals. The team’s strength is its extensive experience in Asia. Further, the team is truly multicultural with members speaking a variety of languages and from a variety of backgrounds.’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘He is experienced, efficient and a safe pair of hands.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”He is very precise, being quite a technician, and a pleasure to work with.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”Insightful and practical, he helps push a deal through without missing details.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”He can see key consequences and helps us through the complexities in a clear and concise manner.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Well-respected’ and ‘very well-known’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”He is responsive, proactive, pragmatic and commercial. He goes the extra mile and provides expert advice.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘He is famous in Asia as one of most experienced aircraft finance practitioners.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”He is a really impressive character who ran the show when I dealt with him. He knows everything about aviation finance and all the trimmings.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Exceptionally detail-oriented’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘Excellent negotiation skills’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘[He] is regularly instructed by airlines, lessors and lenders in high-value structured financing and leasing transactions. Clients appreciate that he “has strong commercial awareness and gets right to the point on issues.”’ – Chambers Global
• ‘Strong commercial awareness and being right to the point in aviation issues’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• One of the world's top 30 lawyers in Aviation – Best of the Best by Euromoney’s Expert Guide
• ‘Attention to detail and excellent quality of work’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• ‘”Very professional; he has my respect.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Good when there's any difficult decision to make’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”Very experienced and very convincing when he makes a case in front of our counterparties, and is always very wise in his advice.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Diligent and professional,’ ‘on top of the relevant issues and always available.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”He is one of the best and I am really impressed by his work.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘”One of the best aviation lawyers I have ever worked with. He is strong in both aircraft financing and procurement-related matters. He also has a strong technical understanding of the business.”’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• Featured Aviation Lawyer – Euromoney’s Expert Guides
• ‘Seasoned figure in the aviation arena,’ ‘extraordinarily intelligent and displays commercial awareness’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘A known and respected name in the market.’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• ‘Aircraft finance expert.’ – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• Recommended Banking & Finance, lenders and borrowers lawyer – PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook
• ‘Leading Aircraft Finance Lawyer, Leading Aircraft Finance: Hong Kong Deals Lawyer’ – Chamber Asia Pacific
• ‘An industry specialist with a dedicated focus on his clients’ – Chambers Asia Pacific
• One of the world's leading Aviation Lawyers in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
• One of the pre-eminent practitioners in the world – the Guide to the World's Leading Aviation Lawyers
• ‘Richard Stock has an enviable position in the market... Clients heap praise on the department head. “He's always given us intelligent and clear advice,” one said.’ – The Asia Pacific Legal 500 
• ‘Richard Stock has an excellent reputation.’ – The Asia Pacific Legal 500
• ‘Thanks again for all the help and support you provided in getting us through with the deal. That was great, and very appreciated. Your speed, efficiency, clarity, and availability at all times was super. I look forward to working with you on the next deal (and more!).’ – Senior Staff Attorney & Corporate Secretary of an international airline
• ‘Very much appreciate your support and commitment (much above and beyond what should be called for in you already demanding job) and your professionalism towards completing this biggest ever [deal for us].’ – Aircraft trading contract manager, a leading international airline 
• ‘I offer you and your team my sincere thanks during our work... notable points [include] (a) extraordinary levels of professionalism and personal endurance, (b) never yielding drive for quality and risk management despite the volume and time pressure, and (c) important, but too often taken for granted, cheerful dispositions.’ – Aircraft trading and purchasing manager, a leading international airline 
• ‘Thanks ... for the fine legal services provided to our team over the past years. I am very proud of the work we have done as a team.’ – General Manager, a leading international airline 
• ‘I would highly recommend Richard Stock ... not only has a great deal of aviation experience in Asia, he also is well connected in China ... very pleased with his common sense approach to dealing with what turned out to be a very difficult and complex set of issues.’ – Associate General Counsel, a US regional carrier 
• ‘We could not have accomplished this without your insights and legal expertise. Not to mention humour.’ – Senior Legal Counsel, a major aircraft lessor 
• ‘[We] have worked together with great success and in harmonious fashion with respect to a recent [major client] transaction.’ – General Counsel, a global aviation business 
• ‘I would like to personally thank you for your efforts in this deal. It has certainly been a difficult transaction and your professionalism and experience has made the deal a lot easier to complete.’ – A major financial institution 
• ‘Really an unforgettable experience and it's nice to work with your team. Looking forward to work with you again in the future.’ – A major financial institution 
• ‘The more that I see of Richard's work, the more I respect him and his advice.’ – General Counsel, major US airline 
• ‘I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to you and your staff for your professionalism and skill.’ – General Manager of Corporate Development of a privately owned airline in Asia