Hanwha Aviation explores freighter growth opportunities

New lessor Hanwha Aviation is exploring adding freighters to its portfolio as part of its growth strategy.Hanwha Aviation, a subsidiary of South Korea-based conglomerate Hanwha Group, launched in May 2024 and appointed Laura Ivaskaite as vice president of commercial and investments in September.Ivaskaite joined Hanwha after almost four years looking after the aircraft and engine fleet at SmartLynx, which expanded its fleet to fourteen A321 freighters in 2024.“The core service, the core of [Hanwha Aviation’s] business, is narrowbody engines, but we will have a small aircraft portfolio as well, and that’s both on the passenger and cargo side,” Ivaskaite says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” recorded at Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance Americas 2025 and Aero-Engines Americas 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas, in late January.“So, the whole idea is to build up the leasing platform,” she says. “We’re also looking to have MRO capabilities in an engine shop in the near future.”Hanwha is “very open” to acquiring freighters, even if that ultimately is an engine-driven move, Ivaskaite says.“Narrowbody freighters has been an engine play for a lot of people in the last couple of years,” she says. “But I’d probably say that we see the 737-800 freighter market picking up a little bit.”Singapore-based Hanwha is looking to the Asia-Pacific region as a key market for expansion. The lessor also has offices in Dublin and Boca Raton, Fla.“We want to really have the expertise in Asia Pacific,” Ivaskaite says. “And at the same time, we recognize that that’s the market that will be growing again, both on the passenger and air cargo side, and there is going to be huge demand for the engines — there already is.”Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Hanwha as Ivaskaite speaks with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.