Founded

1971

Headquarters

Edgewater, Maryland

Key People

Jim Blessing, president

Number of Employees

2

Phone Number

(410) 571-1740

Website

NAFA

National Aircraft Finance Association

The 155 member companies of the National Aircraft Finance Association include banks, financiers, appraisers, tax specialists, manufacturers, brokers, and dealers as well as law, title, insurance, and escrow firms—all the financial players involved in buying or leasing business and general aviation aircraft in the U.S.

The association began in the late 1960s when representatives of companies that financed large numbers of aircraft met to facilitate and improve the lending process. The group included Tom Harvell from the aircraft loan program at Montclair National Bank, who later founded the National Aircraft Finance Company; Jim  Peters, the “Flying Banker,” of the Aviation Finance Division of National Community Bank—one of only three banks in the country at the time to finance airplanes; William Staub of the accounting division of the FAA Aeronautical Center; Bob Beech and Carol Davis of Fulton National Bank; and other prominent aircraft finance and lending representatives.

The association was organized at a meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1970, then formally launched as the Aircraft Finance Association (AFA) in early 1971. In those days, the FAA was more heavily involved with aircraft sales as part of the registration process, and financing an aircraft purchase was cumbersome. The AFA’s first mission: to work with the FAA and finance departments of Cessna and Piper to improve the aircraft lending process.

By 1985, when the association changed its name to the current NAFA, membership had grown to about 80 companies. That number remained virtually unchanged until around 2005 when the business aviation industry began to boom.

AFA’s conferences grew along with its membership, with 260 attendees in 2019 and 291 people registered for the 2020 event before COVID-19 lockdowns forced its cancellation. As the conference includes educational sessions on the latest industry developments, laws, and regulations, NAFA introduced a webinar series in 2020 to keep members informed; an average of 130 people attended each webinar.

Working to be the “voice of aviation finance,” NAFA continuously gathers intelligence to evaluate the aircraft market and track activity, changes, and trends. During an informal review conducted by NAFA in 2020, the association found that its members represent about 38 percent of the aircraft secured by debt, totaling about $4 billion. 

NAFA celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2021 with a virtual conference attended by 176 people.