On 27 February, the Commercial Court's Judgment in
Nas Air Co v Genesis Aviation Trading 3
Ltd was handed down. It is notable for two features.
First, there are very helpful summaries, in the commercial aircraft
leasing context, of the current law as to principles of contractual
construction, the significance of the commercial
"context" known to the parties at the time of contracting
and the implication of terms. Second, the Court considered the
question of whether an "entire agreements" clause
operates to exclude pleas of estoppel.
The contract in question was an agreed extension of a long lease
of an Airbus A320 214 with CFM56-5B4/P engines, operated by Flynas,
Saudi Arabia's budget airline. As was known at the time of the
extension agreement, the engines were scheduled for major
overhauls, by way of "performance restorations" during
the extension period, costing $12m. This is a familiar problem when
extensions of long leases are contemplated. The airline could
