March 12, 2021 NEW YORK (AFP) – General Electric (GE) announced a deal on Wednesday to sell its aircraft leasing business to AerCap for USD30 billion, establishing a new industry giant amid the pandemic-induced downturn in air travel. Under the transaction, the GE unit will be integrated into the Irish company. GE will have a 46-per-cent stake in the new entity and will nominate two members to AerCap’s board, the announcement said. The combined company will have more than 2,000 owned and managed aircraft, more than 300 helicopters and more than 300 customers around the world, AerCap said. The airline industry remains in a deep downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic, although progress on vaccination campaigns is expected to lead to a gradual rebound.