Originally Posted by
travelmad478
When you lend money to an airline to buy a plane, you have the plane as collateral, and it's pretty easy to literally take it away if the debt isn't paid. When you lend to a RE developer, the debt is backed by an asset that (1) can have a value that fluctuates wildly, and (2) is vastly less liquid, in the sense of being able to get someone else to buy it if you have to seize it. Lenders for airplanes (and ships) run a lot less risk.
I'm not sure I'd put "a lot less risk" around the A380s. 320s, 737s, etc - sure, they may be quite liquid. But there aren't many other airlines that would snap up a spare 380. Better than real estate, for sure, but I'd be a bit more worried if I were the lender.
That sai, I don't think this will be an issue for the airline or aircraft.