Sept 13 (Reuters) - Avia Solutions Group, which leases

aircraft and provides related services, expects leasing rates to

remain high for at least two more years, Chairman Gediminas

Ziemelis said on Friday, allowing the group to further expand

and increase profits.

Lease rates have risen around 20-22% from pre-COVID 19

levels as airlines have taken fewer deliveries of new aircraft

and increasingly extend leases on their fleets, Ziemelis said in

an interview.

Production delays by aircraft manufacturers have boosted

carriers' demand for leased planes to meet a spike in travel

demand. The need to service older planes and for additional

pilots and crew members has also benefited Avia, which provides

aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI).

"We tripled our fleet (from pre-pandemic levels). We had

more demand than we had aircraft this summer and potentially for

next summer," Ziemelis said, adding that Avia expects to expand

its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2027, from 220 currently.

Higher leasing rates have jacked up airlines' operating

expenses and shrank their profit margins, leading several

carriers, including Ryanair and Air France-KLM,

to report weaker-than-expected results.