Press release

An airline requires aircrafts and engines in order to fly. And, from time to time, those aircrafts may require replacement spares. This is where Challenge Aviation comes in

Founded in Malta in 2016, Challenge Group’s leasing arm, which the group describes as its ‘engine,’ specialises in the acquisition and leasing of widebody aircraft and engines, and in trading spare parts.

It owns eight wide-body aircraft and five spare engines which it leases out to the Group’s three airlines, Challenge Airlines BE, Challenge Airlines IL, and Challenge Airlines MT, as well as to third-party carriers. The aircrafts are all registered in Israel, Belgium and Malta.

“When we started out in 2016, our leasing fleet consisted of 3 Boeing 747 freighters. In less than 7 years, we will have almost tripled that number. In a world that is desperate for cargo space, we are systematically converting and building up our leasing offer, and aim to become a leading lessor in the airfreight industry within the decade,” said Daniel Ganem, CFO of Challenge Group.

The 35-year-old, whose career began in IAI’s finance department 10 years ago, before moving to business development and flight planning with Challenge Airlines IL (formerly CAL), then taking on a position as financial analyst, now heads the Group’s USD 300 million fleet expansion project, as CFO.

The leasing company, which also holds a number of maintenance contracts, recently purchased four Boeing 767 for freighter conversion, which are expected to be delivered starting next year. It is currently sourcing four 777s for cargo conversion.