Ethan Tan

Ethan Tan is a Partner in our Singapore office and leads the aviation practice in Asia.

Ethan is an experienced aviation lawyer having advised his clients, including major airlines, lessors, banks and investors, on some of the largest and most significant aviation transactions in the Asia-Pacific region. His expertise extends from aviation finance to all varieties of aviation-related work, including operating leases, finance leases, commercial lending, ECA-backed lending, large OEM purchase orders, aircraft secured bonds, ABSs, hedging, asset-driven M&A, aviation JVs, MRO contracts, restructuring, enforcement/repossession, private jets, aircraft trading and commercial disputes.

In addition to aviation, Ethan advises clients on derivatives and structured products. He has advised global investment banks, private banks, regional banks, funds and other financial institutions on large, multi-jurisdictional documentation and regulatory compliance projects.

Ethan is dual-qualified in England & Wales and Singapore.

Ethan has been recognised as a Thought Leader in Transport – Aviation Finance for 2026 by Lexology Index. He has also received the 2026 Lexology Index Client Choice Award for Transport – Aviation Lawyer in Singapore, and has been listed as a Recommended Lawyer for Transport – Aviation Finance since 2025 and for Southeast Asia – Transport – Aviation, 2025. In addition, Ethan has been ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Aviation: Finance since 2025, and is listed as a Recommended Lawyer for Asset Finance by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2024–2026.

Key Experience

• Advising leading airlines, lessors and banks, including Singapore Airlines, Jackson Square Aviation, Scoot, AirAsia / Asia Aviation Capital, Lion Air / Transportation Partners, Cebu Pacific, TEAM, ST Engineering, Avolon, Deucalion, Keystone Holdings, ICBC Leasing, CDB Leasing, Bocomm Leasing, Daiwa, Avation, Deutsche Bank, DVB Bank (now MUFG), CIC and BNPP on numerous aircraft and aircraft engine leasing, financing and trading transactions.
• Advising ST Engineering on the establishment of a new joint venture platform for the leasing of freighter aircraft in collaboration with Temasek Holdings.
• Advising Total Engine Asset Management on the establishment of its asset-backed securitisation programme for 30 aircraft engines operated by airlines across 11 jurisdictions, which was the first-ever aircraft engine-backed ABS by an Asian lessor.
• Advising Total Engine Asset Management on a Japanese operating lease with call option (JOLCO) for two engines operated by an Indonesian airline, which was the first-ever aircraft engine-backed JOLCO by an Asian lessor.
• Advising Lion Air on its then-record order of 234 Airbus aircraft worth US$24 billion.
• Advising VietJet on its orders of 100 Boeing aircraft and 50 Airbus aircraft worth US$20 billion in aggregate.
• Advising Transportation Partners on its US$1.1 billion EXIM-backed financing of a fleet of B737-900ER aircraft operated by Lion Air and subsequent capital market take-outs.
• Advising AirAsia on the sale of a 24-aircraft portfolio worth $800 million to Castlelake.
• Advising Korean institutional investors on the financing of an A380 aircraft operated by Etihad, which was the first-ever Korea-sourced aircraft financing.
• Advising a global investment bank on its re-documentation initiative for its derivatives master agreements and collateral agreements, and dealing with issues relating to the enforceability of netting and collateral arrangements for derivative transactions with different counterparty types in multiple jurisdictions.
• Advising global investment banks, regional banks and other financial institutions on their compliance and re-documentation initiatives pursuant to global margin requirements under EMIR, Dodd-Frank and local regulations (such as MAS and HKMA rules).
• Advising global investment banks and regional banks on the establishment of their structured note programmes and issuance of various credit, equity, index, total return and rate linked products.
• Advising regional banks, funds and other financial institutions on the development of their derivatives templates.

Career History

Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Justices’ Law Clerk, Assistant Registrar, Law Clerk to the Competition Appeal Board, Magistrate, Supreme Court of Singapore
In addition, Ethan practised at a Magic Circle firm and other top international law firms based in Singapore
National University of Singapore, Law and Economics