A wet lease is the hire of an aircraft together with its crew by an airline that then sells the flight under its own flight number.
A wet lease is the hire of an aircraft together with its crew by an airline that then sells the flight under its own flight number.
Also called: ACMI lease.
How it works#
On board, the aircraft, cabin and crew belong to the lessor, while the flight is sold and owned commercially by the lessee. For passengers that means the onboard product and catering can differ from expectations, while delay claims still lie against the airline that sold the flight and appears as the operating carrier in the schedule.
Not to be confused with#
A wet lease is not the same as a codeshare: in a codeshare another airline flies under its own name, in a wet lease foreign metal flies under the selling airline’s name.
In German#
The German term is Wet Lease. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Operating carrier: The operating carrier is the airline that actually flies the aircraft, as distinct from the airline whose name sold the ticket.
- Codeshare: A codeshare is a flight sold by one airline under its own flight number while a different airline actually operates it.
- EU passenger rights regulation: The EU passenger rights regulation is the European law governing claims for cancellation, long delay and denied boarding, regardless of ticket price.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onRights and disruption.