Edgar Filing: Aircastle LTD

Preliminary Prospectus Supplement

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-182242

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 7, 2012

Preliminary Prospectus Supplement

to Prospectus dated June 20, 2012.

9,250,000 Shares

LOGO

Aircastle Limited

Common Shares

This is a public offering of common shares of Aircastle Limited. All of the 9,250,000 shares are being offered by the selling shareholders. After this offering, and assuming consummation of the share repurchase by Aircastle, funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC will beneficially own none of our common shares.

We have entered into an agreement with the selling shareholders to repurchase 2,500,002 of our shares, following the closing of this offering, directly from the selling shareholders in a private, non-underwritten transaction at the same net price the selling shareholders will receive in this offering. The closing of this offering is not contingent on the closing of the share repurchase but the closing of the share repurchase is contingent on the closing of this offering.

The common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AYR”. The last reported sale price of the common shares on August 7, 2012 was $11.97 per share.

See “Risk Factors” on page S-1 of this prospectus supplement and page 2 of the accompanying prospectus to read about factors you should consider before buying common shares.

None of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission, the Minister of Finance and the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda or the Bermuda Monetary Authority have approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. has agreed to purchase our common shares being offered by the selling shareholders identified in this prospectus supplement at a price of $ per share which will result in approximately $ of proceeds for the selling shareholders. The underwriter may offer our common shares in transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or through negotiated transactions at market prices or at negotiated prices. See “Underwriting.”

Goldman, Sachs & Co. expects to deliver the shares against payment in New York, New York on or about August 10, 2012 through the book-entry facilities of the Depository Trust Company.

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Prospectus Supplement dated August , 2012.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement


	Page
About this Prospectus Supplement		S-ii
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		S-ii
Summary		S-1
Concurrent Share Repurchase		S-1
Purchase by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board		S-1
Risk Factors		S-1
Use of Proceeds		S-1
Selling Shareholders		S-2
Underwriting		S-5
Where You Can Find More Information		S-8

Prospectus


	Page
About this Prospectus		iii
Summary		1
Risk Factors		2
Use of Proceeds		2
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges		2
Description of Securities		2
Description of Share Capital		2
Description of Depositary Shares		14
Description of Debt Securities		16
Description of Warrants		18
Description of Subscription Rights		19
Description of Purchase Contracts and Purchase Units		20
Selling Shareholders		20
Plan of Distribution		22
Legal Matters		25
Experts		26
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		26
Where You Can Find More Information		27

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.

Consent under the Exchange Control Act 1972 (and its related regulations) has been obtained from the Bermuda Monetary Authority for the issue and transfer of our common shares to and between persons resident and non-resident of Bermuda for exchange control purposes, provided our shares remain listed on an appointed stock exchange, which includes the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be filed with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda in accordance with Bermuda law. In granting such consent and in accepting this prospectus supplement for filing, neither the Bermuda Monetary Authority nor the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda accepts any responsibility for our financial soundness or the correctness of any of the statements made or opinions expressed in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is comprised of two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the terms of the offering of the common shares and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part is the accompanying prospectus, which provides more general information. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or any document incorporated herein and therein by reference, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain items in this prospectus supplement, and other information we provide from time to time, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not necessarily limited to, statements relating to our ability to acquire, sell, lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income and the global aviation industry and aircraft leasing sector. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “estimates” and variations on these words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors that could lead to actual results materially different from those described in the forward-looking statements; Aircastle Limited can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus supplement. Factors that could have a material adverse effect on our operations and future prospects or that could cause actual results to differ materially from Aircastle Limited’s expectations include, but are not limited to, significant capital markets disruption and volatility and the significant contraction in the availability of bank financing, which may adversely affect our continued ability to obtain additional capital to finance new investments or our working capital needs; volatility in the value of our aircraft; general economic conditions and business conditions affecting demand for aircraft and lease rates; our continued ability to obtain favorable tax treatment in Bermuda, Ireland and other jurisdictions; our ability to pay dividends; high or volatile fuel prices, lack of access to capital, reduced load factors and/or reduced yields, operational disruptions caused by political unrest in North Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere, uncertainties in the Eurozone arising from the sovereign debt crisis and other factors affecting the creditworthiness of our airline customers and their ability to continue to perform their obligations under our leases; termination payments on our interest rate hedges; and other risks detailed from time to time in Aircastle Limited’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including as described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Aircastle to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus supplement. Aircastle Limited expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

S-ii

SUMMARY

We acquire, lease and sell high-utility commercial jet aircraft. High-utility aircraft are generally modern and operationally efficient jets with many operators and long useful lives. As of June 30, 2012, our portfolio consisted of 155 aircraft leased to 67 lessees located in 36 countries. Our aircraft fleet is managed by an experienced team based in the Untied States, Ireland and Singapore. Typically, our aircraft are subject to net leases whereby the lessee is generally responsible for maintaining the aircraft and paying operational, maintenance and insurance costs, although in a majority of cases, we are obligated to pay a portion of specified maintenance or modification costs. From time to time, we also make investments in other aviation assets, including debt investments secured by commercial jet aircraft. Our revenues and income from continuing operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 were $172.2 million and $16.3 million, $337.1 million and $48.9 million, respectively.

Our principal executive offices are located at c/o Aircastle Advisor LLC, 300 First Stamford Place, 5th Floor, Stamford, CT 06902. Our telephone number is (203) 504-1020. Our website address is www.aircastle.com. Information on, or accessible through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus and should not be relied upon in connection with making any investment decision with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus supplement.

CONCURRENT SHARE REPURCHASE

We have entered into an agreement with the selling shareholders to repurchase 2,500,002 of our shares, concurrently with the closing of this offering, directly from the selling shareholders in a private, non-underwritten transaction at the same net price the selling shareholders will receive. We intend to fund this share repurchase primarily with cash on hand. The closing of the share repurchase is contingent on the closing of this offering and the satisfaction of certain other customary conditions.

The closing of this offering is not conditioned on the consummation of the share repurchase, and there can be no assurance that the share repurchase will be consummated.

The description and the other information in this prospectus supplement regarding the share repurchase is included in this prospectus supplement solely for informational purposes. Nothing in this prospectus supplement should be construed as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any of our common shares subject to the share repurchase.

PURCHASE BY ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN BOARD

Certain funds affiliated with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, or OTPP, have indicated that they intend to purchase 6,200,000 shares being offered by this prospectus supplement at the public offering price.

In connection with the offering, the Company intends to provide OTPP with certain demand registration rights relating to OTPP’s ownership of the Company’s common shares. The Company will agree to pay all expenses relating to the registration, except for any underwriter discounts and commissions. The Company and OTPP will also agree to indemnify the other against various liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

RISK FACTORS

Before you invest in our common shares, you should carefully consider the risks involved. Accordingly, you should carefully consider the information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

USE OF PROCEEDS

All of the common shares offered hereby are being sold by the selling shareholders. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common shares in this offering.

S-1

SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

The following table presents certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common shares outstanding as of August 7, 2012 to be sold in this offering by the selling shareholders.

After this offering, funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC and certain officers of Fortress will beneficially own none of our common shares. After this offering, and also giving effect to the share repurchase, funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC and certain officers of Fortress will beneficially own none of our common shares.

Under our Shareholders Agreement, an affiliate of Fortress is permitted to designate a specified number of individuals to be elected to our board of directors depending on the percentage of voting power of our securities beneficially owned by certain Fortress investment funds and their affiliates and permitted transferees. For so long as such Fortress shareholders beneficially own (i) between 10% and 25% of the voting power of the Company, FIG Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Fortress, which we refer to as FIG Advisors, or such other party designated by Fortress, may designate two directors; and (ii) between 5% and 10% of the voting power of the Company, FIG Advisors may designate one director. In the event that the Fortress shareholders cease to beneficially own 5% of the shares issued and outstanding immediately after the consummation of the Company’s initial public offering on August 8, 2006, as will be the case after consummation of this offering, our Shareholders Agreement will terminate. Accordingly, consistent with our Shareholders Agreement, Wesley R. Edens and Joseph P. Adams, the current designated directors of FIG Advisors, will resign from our board not later than 10 days after the consummation of this offering.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by the selling shareholders and the percentage ownership of the selling shareholders, the number of common shares subject to options or warrants held by the selling shareholders that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of the date hereof are deemed outstanding. Except as indicated in the footnotes to the following table or pursuant to applicable community property laws, the selling shareholders have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite their names. The percentages of beneficial ownership set forth below are based on 72,249,402 common shares outstanding on August 7, 2012.

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	Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to this Offering(1)					Shares Being Sold in the Offering		Shares Beneficially Owned After this Offering(1) (5)
Name of Beneficial Owner(1)(4)	Number(2)		Percentage			Shares Being Sold in the Offering		Number(2)		Percentage(3)
Fortress Investment Fund III Sub LLC		1,979,717		2.74	%		1,979,717		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III Sub Two LLC		1,979,716		2.74	%		1,979,716		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub LLC		1,692,691		2.34	%		1,692,691		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub Two LLC		1,692,691		2.34	%		1,692,691		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund C) Sub LLC		707,913		0.98	%		707,913		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) Sub Ltd		1,624,809		2.25	%		1,624,809		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund E) Sub Ltd		114,131		0.16	%		114,131		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund A) Sub LLC		332,919		0.46	%		332,919		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund B) Sub LLC		654,065		0.91	%		654,065		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund C ) Sub LLC		168,457		0.23	%		168,457		0.00		0.00	%
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund D) Sub Ltd		802,893		1.11	%		802,893		0.00		0.00	%

(1)

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting and/or investment power with respect to securities. Common shares subject to options or warrants currently exercisable, or exercisable within 60 days of the date hereof, are deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of the person holding such options or warrants but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of any other person.

(2)	Consists of common shares held, including restricted shares, shares underlying share options exercisable within 60 days and shares underlying warrants exercisable within 60 days.

(3)

Percentage amount assumes (a) the exercise by the selling shareholder of all options and warrants exercisable within 60 days to acquire common shares and no exercise of options or warrants by any other person and (b) the Company’s common shares outstanding after this offering are 69,749,400, giving effect to the repurchase of 2,500,002 shares by the Company.

(4)

Fortress Fund III GP LLC (“FF III GP LLC”) is the general partner, and FIG LLC is the investment advisor, of each of Fortress Investment Fund III LP (“FIF III LP”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) LP (“FIF III Fund B LP”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund C) LP (“FIF III Fund C LP”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) L.P. (“FIF III Fund D L.P.”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund E) L.P. (“FIF III Fund E L.P.”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund A) LP (“FIF III Coinvest Fund A LP”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund B) LP (“FIF III Coinvest Fund B LP”), Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund C) LP (“FIF III Coinvest Fund C LP”), and Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund D) L.P (“FIF III Coinvest Fund D L.P.”). FIF III LP is the sole member each of Fortress Investment Fund III Sub LLC and Fortress Investment Fund III Sub Two LLC. FIF III Fund B LP is the sole member of each of Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub LLC and Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub Two LLC. FIF III Fund C LP is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund C) Sub LLC. FIF III Fund D L.P. is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) Sub Ltd. FIF III Fund E L.P. is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund E) Sub Ltd. FIF III Coinvest Fund A LP is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund A) Sub LLC. FIF III Coinvest Fund B LP is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III

S-3

(Coinvestment Fund B) Sub LLC. FIF III Coinvest Fund C LP is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund C ) Sub LLC and FIF III Coinvest Fund D L.P. is the sole member of Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund D) Sub Ltd. The sole managing member of FF III GP LLC is Fortress Investment Fund GP (Holdings) LLC. The sole managing member of Fortress Investment Fund GP (Holdings) LLC is Fortress Operating Entity I LP (“FOE I”). FOE I is the sole managing member of FIG LLC. FIG Corp. is the general partner of FOE I. FIG Corp. is wholly-owned by Fortress Investment Group LLC.

(5)

We have entered into an agreement with the selling shareholders to repurchase 2,500,002 of our shares, concurrently with the closing of this offering, directly from the selling shareholders in a private, non-underwritten transaction at the same net price the selling shareholders will receive from Goldman, Sachs & Co. Upon completion of the sale of the shares being offered hereby and sale by the selling shareholders of the 2,500,002 shares to us and the subsequent cancellation of those shares by us, the selling shareholders will beneficially own none of our shares.

S-4

UNDERWRITING

The company, the selling shareholders and Goldman, Sachs & Co. have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the shares being offered. Subject to certain conditions, Goldman, Sachs & Co. has agreed to purchase all of the 9,250,000 shares offered hereby.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. proposes to offer the common shares from time to time for sale in one or more transactions in the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, subject to receipt and acceptance by it and subject to its right to reject any order in whole or in part. The underwriter may effect such transactions by selling the common shares to or through dealers and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriter and/or purchasers of common shares for whom they may act as agents or to whom they may sell as principal. The difference between the price at which the underwriter purchases shares and the price at which the underwriter resells such shares may be deemed underwriting compensation.

The Company, the selling shareholders and Goldman, Sachs & Co. have agreed that, for a period of 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, subject to certain exceptions, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Goldman, Sachs & Co. dispose of or hedge any common shares or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common shares. Goldman, Sachs & Co. may release any of the securities subject to this lock-up at any time without notice. If (i) during the last 17 days of the 30-day restricted period, we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to our company occurs; or (ii) prior to the expiration of the 30-day restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 30-day restricted period, the restrictions described above shall continue to apply to us until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

The shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AYR.”

In connection with the offering, the underwriter may purchase and sell shares in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases.

Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriter of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering.

Covering transactions involve purchases of shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. A short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriter for its own account, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the shares. They may also cause the price of the shares to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriter may conduct these transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriter commences any of these transactions, it may discontinue them at any time.

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a Relevant Member State), Goldman, Sachs & Co. has represented and

S-5

agreed that with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the Relevant Implementation Date) it has not made and will not make an offer of shares to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the shares which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of shares to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:

(a) to legal entities which are authorised or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorised or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;

(b) to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;

(c) to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

(d) in any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Issuer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of shares to the public” in relation to any shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the shares, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. has represented and agreed that:

(a)

it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the shares in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA would not apply to the Issuer; and

(b)

it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the shares in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

The shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

S-6

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and Goldman, Sachs & Co. has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

The company and the selling shareholders estimate that their share of the total expenses of the offering, excluding deemed underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $ .

The company and the selling shareholders have agreed to indemnify Goldman, Sachs & Co. against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933.

In addition, we have entered into an agreement with the selling shareholders to repurchase 2,500,002 of our shares, concurrently with the closing of this offering, directly from the selling shareholders in a private, non-underwritten transaction at the same net price the selling shareholders will receive from Goldman, Sachs & Co., which will result in $ of additional proceeds to the selling shareholders. See “Concurrent Share Repurchase.”

The Underwriter and its affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The Underwriter and its affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the Underwriter and its affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investment and securities activities may involve securities and instruments of the issuer.

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings can be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F. Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our SEC filings are also available over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Our common shares are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the trading symbol “AYR.” Our reports, proxy statements and other information can also be read at the offices of the NYSE, 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005. General information about us, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments and exhibits to those reports, are available free of charge through our website at www.aircastle.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. Information on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or our other securities filings and is not a part of these filings.

We have filed a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with the SEC pursuant to which the common shares are being offered by this prospectus supplement. Neither this prospectus supplement nor the accompanying prospectus contains all the information contained in the registration statement because certain parts of the registration statement are omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. The registration statement and the documents filed as exhibits to the registration statement are available for inspection and copying as described above.

The SEC allows “incorporation by reference” into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus of information that we file with the SEC. This permits us to disclose important information to you by referencing these filed documents. Any information referenced this way is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and any information filed by us with the SEC subsequent to the date of this prospectus supplement and prior to the termination of this offering will automatically be deemed to update and supersede this information.

We incorporate by reference the following documents which we have already filed with the SEC (other than any portion of such filings that are furnished under applicable SEC rules rather than filed):

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on February 29, 2012;

Portions of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, as filed with the SEC on April 13, 2012 that are incorporated by reference into Part III of our Annual Report on Form 10-K;

Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012 as filed with the SEC on May 3, 2012; and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2012 as filed with the SEC on August 3, 2012; and

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed January 23, 2012, March 8, 2012, April 5, 2012, May 24, 2012, June 5, 2012 and June 8, 2012.

All documents and reports that we file with the SEC (other than any portion of such filings that are furnished under applicable SEC rules rather than filed) pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, from the date of this prospectus supplement until the termination of the offering of all common shares under this prospectus supplement, shall be deemed to be incorporated in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by reference.

We will provide without charge, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus,

S-8

excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus forms a part. Requests should be directed to Aircastle Limited, c/o Aircastle Advisor LLC, 300 First Stamford Place, 5th Floor, Stamford, CT 06902, (203) 504-1020.

S-9

PROSPECTUS

LOGO

AIRCASTLE LIMITED

COMMON SHARES

PREFERENCE SHARES

DEPOSITARY SHARES

DEBT SECURITIES

WARRANTS

SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

PURCHASE CONTRACTS

PURCHASE UNITS

We may offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of any such offering, any combination of (i) common shares, (ii) preference shares, (iii) depositary shares representing preference shares, (iv) debt securities, (v) warrants, (vi) subscription rights, (vii) purchase contracts and (viii) purchase units (or its equivalent in foreign or composite currencies) on terms to be determined at the time of offering. The selling shareholders may also offer and sell, from time to time, up to 11,750,002 of our common shares. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of our common shares by selling shareholders.

This prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to these securities. We will provide the specific prices and terms of these securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus at the time of the offering. You should read this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement carefully before you make your investment decision.

We or the selling shareholders may offer and sell these securities through underwriters, dealers or agents or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. The securities may also be resold by selling shareholders. The prospectus supplement for each offering will describe in detail the plan of distribution for that offering and will set forth the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the offering and any applicable fees, commissions or discount arrangements.

This prospectus may not be used to sell securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Our common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the trading symbol “AYR.” Each prospectus supplement will indicate if the securities offered thereby will be listed on any securities exchange.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” on page 2 before you make your investment decision.

None of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission, the Minister of Finance and the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda or the Bermuda Monetary Authority have approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is June 20, 2012.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS		iii
SUMMARY		1
RISK FACTORS		2
USE OF PROCEEDS		2
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES		2
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES		2
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL		2
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES		14
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES		16
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS		18
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS		19
DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS AND PURCHASE UNITS		20
SELLING SHAREHOLDERS		20
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		22
LEGAL MATTERS		25
EXPERTS		26
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		26
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION		27

Consent under the Bermuda Exchange Control Act 1972 (and its related regulations) has been obtained from the Bermuda Monetary Authority for the issue and transfer of our offered securities to and between persons resident and non-resident of Bermuda for exchange control purposes provided our shares are listed on an appointed stock exchange, which includes the New York Stock Exchange. At the time of any issue or transfer of our offered securities, this prospectus, along with any prospectus supplement will be filed with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda in accordance with Bermuda law. In granting such consent and in accepting this prospectus along with any prospectus supplement for filing, neither the Bermuda Monetary Authority nor the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda accepts any responsibility for our financial soundness or for the correctness of any of the statements made or opinions expressed in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement.

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer and sell, from time to time, any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings, up to a maximum aggregate offering price of $1,000,000,000. In addition, certain of our shareholders may offer from time to time, in one or more offerings, up to 11,750,002 of our common shares. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer to sell our securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement and may provide other offering materials containing specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may add, change or update information contained in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information contained in this prospectus and any information contained in any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement. In addition, as described above, we have filed and plan to continue to file documents with the SEC that contain information about us and the business conducted by us. Before you decide to invest in any of our securities, you should read carefully this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement (including all documents incorporated by reference therein), and the information that we file with the SEC.

This prospectus only provides you with a general description of the securities we and the selling shareholders may offer. Each time we or any selling shareholders sell securities described in the prospectus we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities offered. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read both this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Neither we nor the selling shareholders have authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. Neither we nor the selling shareholders are making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement on Form S-3, including its exhibits. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), and, therefore, file reports and other information with the SEC. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are only summaries. If SEC rules require that any agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should refer to that agreement or document for its complete contents.

You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any other offering materials is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of each document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since then.

In this prospectus, unless otherwise specified or the context requires otherwise, we use the terms “Aircastle,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” to refer to Aircastle Limited and its subsidiaries, except where it is clear that the term refers only to the parent company. References in this prospectus to “Fortress” refer to Fortress Investment Group LLC and certain of its affiliates, and references to the “Fortress funds” refer to certain shareholders of Aircastle which are managed by affiliates of Fortress. Throughout this prospectus, when we refer to our aircraft, we include aircraft that we have transferred into grantor trusts or similar entities for purposes of financing such assets through securitizations and term financings.

iii

SUMMARY

This is only a summary and may not contain all the information that is important to you. You should carefully read both this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and any other offering materials, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited is a global company that acquires, leases and sells high-utility commercial jet aircraft to customers throughout the world. High-utility aircraft are generally modern, operationally efficient jets with a large operator base and long useful lives. As of March 31, 2012, our aircraft portfolio consisted of 145 aircraft that were leased to 65 lessees located in 34 countries, and managed through our offices in the United States, Ireland and Singapore. Typically, our aircraft are subject to net operating leases whereby the lessee is generally responsible for maintaining the aircraft and paying operational, maintenance and insurance costs, although in a majority of cases, we are obligated to pay a portion of specified maintenance or modification costs. From time to time, we also make investments in other aviation assets, including debt investments secured by commercial jet aircraft.

Our principal executive offices are located at c/o Aircastle Advisor LLC, 300 First Stamford Place, 5th Floor, Stamford, CT 06902. Our telephone number is (203) 504-1020. Our website address is www.aircastle.com. Information on, or accessible through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus and should not be relied upon in connection with making any investment decision with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus.

RISK FACTORS

You should consider the specific risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, the risk factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” in any applicable prospectus supplement and any risk factors set forth in our other filings with the SEC, before making an investment decision. Each of the risks described in these documents could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and could result in a partial or complete loss of your investment. See “Where You Can Find More Information” on page 27 of this prospectus.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise set forth in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds of any offering of securities for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment or refinancing of outstanding indebtedness and the financing of future acquisitions. We will have significant discretion in the use of any net proceeds. The net proceeds may be invested temporarily in interest-bearing accounts and short-term interest-bearing securities until they are used for their stated purpose. We may provide additional information on the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the offered securities in an applicable prospectus supplement relating to the offered securities.

We will not receive any proceeds in the event that the securities are sold by a selling shareholder.

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The following table sets forth our consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the periods shown. Fixed charges consist of interest on all indebtedness, capitalized interest and one third of rentals, which we believe is a reasonable approximation of the interest factor of such rentals. Earnings available to cover fixed charges consist of income from continuing operations before income taxes, plus fixed charges, less capitalized interest during the period, plus current period amortization of interest capitalized in prior periods.

Years Ended December 31,

Three Months
Ended March 31,

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

1.96x

1.53x

1.63x

1.37x

1.58x

1.67x

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

This prospectus contains summary descriptions of the common shares, preference shares, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants, subscription rights, purchase contracts and purchase units that we may offer and sell from time to time. These summary descriptions are not meant to be complete descriptions of each security. The particular terms of any security will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

General

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized share capital consists of:

•

250,000,000 common shares, par value $0.01 per share; and

•

50,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.01 per share.

As of June 12, 2012, there were issued and outstanding 72,250,141 common shares and no issued and outstanding preference shares. All of the currently outstanding common shares on the date of this prospectus are fully paid. Our bye-laws permit us to issue shares that are not fully paid, subject to the right of our board of directors to make calls for unpaid amounts. Pursuant to our bye-laws, subject to any resolution of the shareholders to the contrary, our board of directors is authorized to issue any of our authorized but unissued shares. There are no limitations on the right of non-Bermudians or non-residents of Bermuda to hold or vote our shares.

Set forth below is a summary description of all the material terms of our share capital. This description is qualified in its entirety by reference to our memorandum of association and amended bye-laws.

Common Shares

Holders of common shares have no pre-emptive, redemption, conversion or sinking fund rights. Holders of common shares are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of holders of common shares. Unless a different majority is required by law or by our bye-laws, resolutions to be approved by holders of common shares require approval by a simple majority of votes cast at a meeting at which a quorum is present. Our bye-laws provide that persons standing for election as directors at a duly constituted and quorate annual general meeting are to be elected by our shareholders by a plurality of the votes cast on the resolution. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding common shares can elect all of the directors standing for election, and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common shares are entitled to share equally and ratably in our assets, if any, remaining after the payment of all of our debts and liabilities, subject to any liquidation preference on any issued and outstanding preference shares. Our common shares are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “AYR.” Any common shares not fully paid up are subject to calls by our board of directors.

Preference Shares

Pursuant to Bermuda law and our bye-laws, our board of directors by resolution may establish one or more series of preference shares having such number of shares, designations, dividend rates, relative voting rights, conversion or exchange rights, redemption rights, liquidation rights and other relative participation, optional or other powers, preferences and rights, qualifications, limitations or restrictions as may be fixed by the board without any further shareholder approval. The rights with respect to a series of preference shares may be more favorable to the holder(s) thereof than the rights attached to our common shares. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any preference shares on the rights of holders of our common shares until our board of directors determines the specific rights attached to such preference share. The effect of issuing preference shares may include, among other things, one or more of the following:

•

restricting dividends in respect of our common shares;

•

diluting the voting power of our common shares or providing that holders of preference shares have the right to vote on matters as a class;

•

impairing the liquidation rights of our common shares; or

•

delaying or preventing a change of control of Aircastle.

Dividend Rights

Under Bermuda law, a company’s board of directors may declare and pay dividends from time to time unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that the company is, or would after the payment be, unable to pay its liabilities as they become due or that the realizable value of its assets would thereby be less than the aggregate of its liabilities and issued share capital and share premium accounts. Under our bye-laws, each common share is entitled to dividends if, as and when dividends are declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferred dividend right of the holders of any preference shares. There are no restrictions on our ability to transfer funds (other than funds denominated in Bermuda dollars) in and out of Bermuda or to pay dividends to U.S. residents who are holders of our common shares.

Variation of Rights

If at any time we have more than one class of shares, the rights attaching to any class, unless otherwise provided for by the terms of issue of the relevant class, may be varied either: (i) with the consent in writing of the holders of 50% of the issued shares of that class; or (ii) with the sanction of a resolution passed by a majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of the relevant class of shareholders at which a quorum consisting of at least two persons holding or representing two-thirds of the issued shares of the relevant class is present. Our bye-laws specify that the creation or issue of shares ranking equally with existing shares will not, unless expressly provided by the terms of issue of existing shares, vary the rights attached to existing shares. In addition, the creation or issuance of preference shares ranking prior to common shares will not be deemed to vary the rights attached to common shares or, subject to the terms of any other series of preference shares, to vary the rights attached to any other series of preference shares.

Election and Removal of Directors

Our bye-laws provide that our board shall consist of not less than three and not more than ten directors, as the board may from time to time determine. Our board of directors currently consists of nine directors. Our board is divided into three classes that are, as nearly as possible, of equal size. Each class of directors is elected for a three year term of office, but the terms are staggered so that the term of only one class of directors expires at each annual general meeting. The current terms of the Class I, Class II and Class III directors will expire in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Any shareholder wishing to propose for election as a director someone who is not an existing director or is not proposed by our board must give notice of the intention to propose the person for election. Where a person is to be proposed for election as a director at an annual general meeting by a shareholder, that notice must be given not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days before the anniversary of the last annual general meeting prior to the giving of the notice or, in the event the annual general meeting is called for a date that is not 25 days before or after such anniversary, the notice must be given not later than ten days following the earlier of the date on which notice of the annual general meeting was mailed to shareholders or the date on which public disclosure of the date of the annual general meeting was made. Where a director is to be elected at a special general meeting, that notice must be given not later than 10 days following the earlier of the date on which notice of the special general meeting was mailed to shareholders or the date on which public disclosure of the date of the special general meeting was made. Such proposal must be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in our bye-laws.

A director may be removed with or without cause by a resolution of our shareholders, including the affirmative votes of at least 80.0% of all votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote on such resolution, provided that notice of the shareholders meeting convened to remove the director is given to the director. The notice must contain a statement of the intention to remove the director and must be served on the director not less than 14 days before the meeting. The director is entitled to attend the meeting and be heard on the motion for his removal.

Corporate Opportunity

Our bye-laws provide that the Fortress funds, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, the “Significant Shareholders”) have the right to, and have no duty to abstain from, exercising their right to engage or invest in the same or similar business as us, do business with any of our clients, customers or vendors or employ or otherwise engage any of our officers, directors or employees. If the Significant Shareholders or any of their officers, directors or employees acquire knowledge of a potential transaction that could be a corporate opportunity, they have no duty to offer such corporate opportunity to us, our shareholders or affiliates.

Our bye-laws also provide that, in the event that any of our directors and officers who is also a director, officer or employee of any of our Significant Shareholders acquires knowledge of a corporate opportunity or is offered a corporate opportunity, provided that this knowledge was not acquired solely in such person’s capacity as our director or officer and such person acted in good faith, then such person is not liable to us if any of the Significant Shareholders pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity or if such person did not present the corporate opportunity to us.

Acquisition of Common Shares by Aircastle and Option to Require Sale of Shares

Our bye-laws provide that we have the option, but not the obligation, to require a shareholder that is not a U.S. citizen or a qualified resident of the U.S. or of the other contracting state of the applicable tax treaty with the U.S. (as determined for purposes of the relevant provision of the limitation on benefits article of such treaty) owning more than 5% of our issued and outstanding common shares to sell its common shares for their fair market value to us, to other shareholders or to third parties if we determine that failure to exercise our option would result in adverse tax consequences to us or any of our subsidiaries. Our right to require a shareholder to sell its shares will be limited to the purchase of a number of shares that our directors, in the reasonable exercise of their discretion, determine is necessary to permit avoidance of those adverse tax consequences.

Shareholders Agreement

Upon the completion of our initial public offering, we entered into an Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement, or the Shareholders Agreement, with Fortress Investment Fund III LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund C) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) L.P., Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund E) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund A) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund B) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund C) LP, Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund D) L.P., Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund LP, Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund Ltd. and Drawbridge Global Macro Master Fund Ltd., which we refer to, collectively, as the Initial Shareholders (and, together with certain other affiliates of Fortress and permitted transferees, collectively, the “Fortress Shareholders”).

As discussed further below, the Shareholders Agreement provides certain rights to the Initial Shareholders with respect to the designation of directors for election to our Board as well as registration rights for certain of our securities owned by them.

The Shareholders Agreement provides that the Initial Shareholders and their respective affiliates and permitted transferees will vote or cause to be voted all of our voting shares beneficially owned by each and to take all other reasonably necessary action so that no amendment is made to the Company’s Memorandum of Association or Bye-laws in effect as of the date of the Shareholders Agreement that would add restrictions to the transferability of our shares by an Initial Shareholder or its permitted transferee which are beyond those provided for in our Memorandum of Association, Bye-laws, the Shareholders Agreement or applicable securities laws, or that nullify the rights set out in the Shareholders Agreement of any Initial Shareholder or their permitted transferee unless such amendment is approved by such shareholder.

Designation and Election of Directors

The Shareholders Agreement requires that the Initial Shareholders and their respective affiliates and permitted transferees vote or cause to be voted all of our voting shares beneficially owned by each and to take all other reasonably necessary action so as to elect to our Board so long as the Initial Shareholders beneficially own (i) more than 50% of the voting power of the Company, four directors (or, if the Board consists of eight directors, five directors) designated by FIG Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Fortress, which we refer to as FIG Advisors, or such other party designated by Fortress; (ii) between 25% and 50% of the voting power of the Company, three directors designated by FIG Advisors; (iii) between 10% and 25% of the voting power of the Company, two directors designated by FIG Advisors; and (iv) between 5% and 10% of the voting power of the Company, one director designated by FIG Advisors. The Initial Shareholders also agree to vote their shares or otherwise take all necessary action to cause (1) the removal, with or without cause, of any director previously nominated by FIG Advisors upon notice from FIG Advisors of its desire to remove such a director and (2) in the event a designee of FIG Advisors ceases to serve as a director during his term in office, the filling of such vacancy with an individual designated by FIG Advisors. Our Shareholders Agreement provides that if FIG LLC notifies the Fortress Shareholders of its desire to remove, with or without cause, any director previously designated by it, the Fortress Shareholders shall vote or cause to be voted all of their voting shares of the Company and take all other reasonable actions within their control to cause the removal of such director.

In accordance with the Shareholders Agreement, FIG Advisors designated Wesley R. Edens, Joseph P. Adams, Jr. and Peter V. Ueberroth for election to our Board. If at any time the number of our directors entitled to be

designated by FIG Advisors to the Shareholders Agreement shall decrease, within ten days thereafter, FIG Advisors shall cause the appropriate number of directors to resign and any such vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of our Board. In connection with our follow-on public offering completed in May 2011, certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress also sold 5,000,000 secondary common shares, as a result of which the Initial Shareholders and their respective affiliates ceased to own more than 25% of the voting power of the Company and the number of our directors entitled to be designated by FIG Advisors decreased from three to two directors. In connection with this offering, a special committee of our Board, comprised solely of Independent Directors, waived the requirement under our Shareholders Agreement that FIG Advisors cause one of the directors designated by it to resign from our Board. The special committee concluded that waiving such requirement under the Shareholders Agreement and continuing the current composition of our board, with a majority of Independent Directors, was in the best interests of our shareholders. As of June 12, 2012 certain Fortress funds owned approximately 16.3% of our shares.

Registration Rights

Demand Rights. We have granted to the Initial Shareholders, for so long as such shareholders collectively and beneficially own an amount of our Common Shares (whether owned at the time of this offering or subsequently acquired) at least equal to 5% or more of our Common Shares issued and outstanding immediately after the consummation of our initial public offering (a “Registrable Amount”), “demand” registration rights that allow them at any time after six months following the consummation of such offering to request that we register under the Securities Act an amount equal to or greater than 5% of our Common Shares that they own. Each of the Initial Shareholders is entitled to an aggregate of two demand registrations, which can be a shelf registration. We are also not required to effect any demand registration within six months of a “firm commitment” underwritten offering to which the requestor held “piggyback” rights and which included at least 50% of the securities requested by the requestor to be included. We are not obligated to grant a request for a demand registration within four months of any other demand registration, and may refuse a request for demand registration if, in our reasonable judgment, it is not feasible for us to proceed with the registration because of the unavailability of audited financial statements.

Piggyback Rights. For so long as they beneficially own an amount of our Common Shares at least equal to 1% of our Common Shares issued and outstanding immediately after the consummation of our initial public offering, the Initial Shareholders also have “piggyback” registration rights that allow them to include the Common Shares that they own in any public offering of equity securities initiated by us (other than those public offerings pursuant to registration statements on Forms S-4 or S-8) or by any of our other shareholders that have registration rights. The “piggyback” registration rights of these shareholders are subject to proportional cutbacks based on the manner of the offering and the identity of the party initiating such offering.

Shelf Registration. We have granted each of the Initial Shareholders or any of their respective transferees, for so long as they beneficially own a Registrable Amount, the right to request a shelf registration on Form S-3 providing for offerings of our Common Shares to be made on a continuous basis until all shares covered by such registration have been sold, subject to our right to suspend the use of the shelf registration prospectuses for a reasonable period of time (not exceeding 60 days in succession or 90 days in the aggregate in any 12 month period) if we determine that certain disclosures required by the shelf registration statements would be detrimental to us or our shareholders. In addition, the Initial Shareholders may elect to participate in such shelf registrations within ten days after notice of the registration is given.

Indemnification; Expenses. We have agreed to indemnify each of the Initial Shareholders against any losses or damages resulting from any untrue statement or omission of material fact in any registration statement or prospectus pursuant to which they sell our common shares, unless such liability arose from such shareholder’s misstatement or omission, and each such shareholder has agreed to indemnify us against all losses caused by its misstatements or omissions. We will pay all expenses incidental to our performance under the Shareholders Agreement, and the Initial Shareholders will pay their respective portions of all underwriting discounts, commissions and transfer taxes relating to the sale of their Common Shares under the Shareholders Agreement.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

The following is a summary of certain provisions of our bye-laws that may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a shareholder might consider to be in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by shareholders.

The authorized but unissued common shares and our preference shares will be available for future issuance by the board of directors, subject to any resolutions of the shareholders. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued common shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control over us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, amalgamation or otherwise.

Certain provisions of our bye-laws may make a change in control of Aircastle more difficult to effect. Our bye-laws provide for a staggered board of directors consisting of three classes of directors. Each class of directors are chosen for three-year terms upon the expiration of their current terms and each year one class of our directors is elected for a three-year term of office by our shareholders. The terms of the directors in the first, second and third classes will expire in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. We believe that classification of our board of directors will help to assure the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies as determined by our board of directors. The classified board could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of shareholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our board of directors. Thus, the classified board could increase the likelihood that incumbent directors will retain their positions. The staggered terms of directors may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or an attempt to change control of us, even though a tender offer or change in control might be in the best interest of our shareholders. Our bye-laws provide that persons standing for election as directors at a duly constituted and quorate annual general meeting are elected by our shareholders by a plurality of the votes cast on the resolution. In addition, our bye-laws provide that directors may be removed with or without cause by a resolution of our shareholders, including the affirmative votes of at least 80.0% of all votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote on such resolution. Our bye-laws also give us the option, but not the obligation, to require a shareholder that is not a U.S. citizen or a qualified resident of the U.S. or of the other contracting state of the applicable tax treaty with the U.S. (as determined for purposes of the relevant provision of the limitation on benefits article of such treaty) owning more than 5% of our issued and outstanding common shares to sell the shareholder’s common shares to us, to another shareholder or to third parties at fair market value if we determine that failure to exercise such option would result in adverse tax consequences to us or any of our subsidiaries.

Pursuant to our bye-laws, our preference shares may be issued from time to time, and the board of directors is authorized to determine the rights, preferences, powers, qualifications, limitations and restrictions. See “— Preference Shares.”

Certain Provisions of Bermuda Law

We have been designated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a non-resident for Bermuda exchange control purposes. This designation allows us to engage in transactions in currencies other than the Bermuda dollar, and there are no restrictions on our ability to transfer funds (other than funds denominated in Bermuda dollars) in and out of Bermuda or to pay dividends to United States residents who are holders of our common shares.

In accordance with Bermuda law, share certificates are only issued in the names of companies, partnerships or individuals. In the case of a shareholder acting in a special capacity (for example as a trustee), certificates may, at the request of the shareholder, record the capacity in which the shareholder is acting. Notwithstanding such recording of any special capacity, we are not bound to investigate or see to the execution of any such trust. We will take no notice of any trust applicable to any of our shares, whether or not we have been notified of such trust.

Differences between the Governing Corporate Law of Bermuda and Delaware Law

You should be aware that the Companies Act 1981 of Bermuda (the “Companies Act”), which applies to us, differs in certain material respects from laws generally applicable to Delaware corporations and their shareholders. In order to highlight these differences, set forth below is a summary of material provisions of the Companies Act (including modifications adopted pursuant to our bye-laws) and Bermuda common law applicable to us which differ in certain respects from provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Duties of Directors. The Companies Act authorizes the directors of a company, subject to its bye-laws, to exercise all powers of the company except those that are required by the Companies Act or the company’s bye-laws to be exercised by the shareholders of the company. Our bye-laws provide that our business is to be managed and conducted by our board of directors. At common law, members of a board of directors owe a fiduciary duty to the company to act in good faith in their dealings with or on behalf of the company and exercise their powers and fulfill the duties of their office honestly. This duty includes the following essential elements:

•

a duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company;

•

a duty not to make a personal profit from opportunities that arise from the office of director;

•

a duty to avoid conflicts of interest; and

•

a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended.

The Companies Act imposes a duty on directors and officers of a Bermuda company:

•

to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company; and

•

to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

In addition, the Companies Act imposes various duties on directors and officers of a company with respect to certain matters of management and administration of the company.

Directors and officers generally owe fiduciary duties to the company, and not to the company’s individual shareholders. Our shareholders may not have a direct cause of action against our directors.

Under Delaware law, the business and affairs of a corporation are managed by or under the direction of its board of directors. In exercising their powers, directors are charged with a fiduciary duty of care to protect the interests of the corporation and a fiduciary duty of loyalty to act in the best interests of its shareholders. The duty of care requires that directors act in an informed and deliberative manner and inform themselves, prior to making a business decision, of all material information reasonably available to them. The duty of care also requires that directors exercise care in overseeing and investigating the conduct of corporate employees. The duty of loyalty may be summarized as the duty to act in good faith, not out of self-interest, and in a manner which the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the shareholders.

Delaware law provides that a party challenging the propriety of a decision of a board of directors bears the burden of rebutting the applicability of the presumptions afforded to directors by the “business judgment rule.” The business judgment rule is a presumption that in making a business decision, directors acted on an informed basis and that the action taken was in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, and accordingly, unless the presumption is rebutted, a board’s decision will be upheld unless there can be no rational business purpose for the action or the action constitutes corporate waste. If the presumption is not rebutted, the business judgment rule attaches to protect the directors and their decisions, and their business judgments will not be second guessed. Where, however, the presumption is rebutted, the directors bear the burden of demonstrating the entire fairness of the relevant transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Delaware courts may subject directors’ conduct to enhanced scrutiny in respect of defensive actions taken in response to a threat to corporate control or the approval of a transaction resulting in a sale of control of the corporation.

Interested Directors. Bermuda law and our bye-laws provide that if a director has an interest in a material transaction or proposed material transaction with us or any of our subsidiaries or has a material interest in any person that is a party to such a transaction, the director must disclose the nature of that interest at the first opportunity either at a meeting of directors or in writing to the directors. Our bye-laws provide that, after a director has made such a declaration of interest, he is allowed to be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present and to vote on a transaction in which he has an interest, unless disqualified from doing so by the chairman of the relevant board meeting. Under Delaware law, such transaction would not be voidable if (i) the material facts as to such interested director’s relationship or interests are disclosed or are known to the board of directors and the board in good faith authorizes the transaction by the affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested directors, (ii) such material facts are disclosed or are known to the shareholders entitled to vote on such transaction and the transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the majority of shares entitled to vote thereon or (iii) the transaction is fair as to the Company as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified. Under Delaware law, such interested director could be held liable for a transaction in which such director derived an improper personal benefit.

Voting Rights and Quorum Requirements. Under Bermuda law, the voting rights of our shareholders are regulated by our bye-laws and, in certain circumstances, the Companies Act. Under our bye-laws, at any general meeting, two or more persons present in person at the start of the meeting and representing in person or by proxy more than 50% of all votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote at the meeting, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at that meeting. Generally, except as otherwise provided in the bye-laws, or the Companies Act, any action or resolution requiring approval of the shareholders may be passed by a simple majority of votes cast except for the election of directors which requires only a plurality of the votes cast.

Any individual who is a shareholder of the company and who is present at a meeting may vote in person, as may any corporate shareholder that is represented by a duly authorized representative at a meeting of shareholders. Our bye-laws also permit attendance at general meetings by proxy, provided the instrument appointing the proxy is in the form specified in the bye-laws or such other form as the board may determine. Under our bye-laws, each holder of common shares is entitled to one vote per common share held.

Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in the company’s certificate of incorporation, each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by the stockholder. Delaware law provides that unless otherwise provided in a company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, a majority of the shares entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, constitutes a quorum at a meeting of stockholders. In matters other than the election of directors, with the exception of special voting requirements related to extraordinary transactions, and unless otherwise provided in a company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, the affirmative vote of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at a meeting in which a quorum is present is required for stockholder action, and the affirmative vote of a plurality of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the meeting is required for the election of directors.

Dividends. Under Bermuda law, a company may not declare or pay dividends if there are reasonable grounds for believing that: (i) the company is, or would after the payment be, unable to pay its liabilities as they become due; or (ii) that the realizable value of its assets would thereby be less than the aggregate of its liabilities, its issued share capital (par value) and its share premium accounts (share premium being the amount of consideration paid for the subscription of shares in excess of the par value of those shares). As a result, in future years, if the realizable value of a company’s assets decreases, its ability to make or maintain dividend payments may depend upon its shareholders’ approval of resolutions reducing the share premium account by transferring funds to the contributed surplus account. Under our bye-laws, each common share is entitled to dividends if, as and when dividends are declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferred dividend right of the holders of any preference shares. Issued share capital is the aggregate par value of the company’s issued shares, and share premium is the aggregate amount paid for issued shares over and above their par value. Share premium accounts may be reduced in certain limited circumstances.

Under Delaware law, subject to any restrictions contained in the company’s certificate of incorporation, a company may pay dividends out of surplus or, if there is no surplus, out of net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and for the preceding fiscal year. Delaware law also provides that dividends may not be paid out of net profits if, after the payment of the dividend, capital is less than the capital represented by the outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets.

Amalgamations, Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The amalgamation or merger of a Bermuda company with another company or corporation (other than certain affiliated companies) requires the amalgamation or merger agreement to be approved by the company’s board of directors and by its shareholders. Unless the company’s bye-laws provide otherwise, the approval of 75% of the shareholders voting at such meeting is required to approve the amalgamation or merger agreement, and the quorum for such meeting must be two persons holding or representing more than one-third of the issued shares of the company. Our bye-laws provide that a merger or an amalgamation (other than with certain affiliated companies) that has been approved by the board must only be approved by a majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of the shareholders at which the quorum shall be two or more persons present in person at the start of the meeting and representing in person or by proxy more than 50% of all votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote at the meeting. Any merger or amalgamation not approved by our board must be approved by a shareholders resolution, including the affirmative vote of at least 66% of all votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote on such matter.

Under Bermuda law, in the event of an amalgamation or merger of a Bermuda company with another company or corporation, a shareholder of the Bermuda company who did not vote in favor of the amalgamation or merger and is not satisfied that fair value has been offered for such shareholder’s shares may, within one month of notice of the shareholders meeting, apply to the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appraise the fair value of those shares.

Under Delaware law, with certain exceptions, a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all the assets of a corporation must be approved by the board of directors and a majority of the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon. Under Delaware law, a shareholder of a corporation participating in certain major corporate transactions may, under certain circumstances, be entitled to appraisal rights pursuant to which such shareholder may receive cash in the amount of the fair value of the shares held by such shareholder (as determined by a court) in lieu of the consideration such shareholder would otherwise receive in the transaction.

Takeovers. An acquiring party is generally able to acquire compulsorily the common shares of minority holders in the following ways:

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By a procedure under the Companies Act known as a “scheme of arrangement”. A scheme of arrangement could be effected by obtaining the agreement of the company and of holders of common shares, representing in the aggregate a majority in number and at least 75% in value of the common shareholders present and voting at a court ordered meeting held to consider the scheme of arrangement. The scheme of arrangement must then be sanctioned by the Bermuda Supreme Court. If a scheme of arrangement receives all necessary agreements and sanctions, upon the filing of the court order with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda, all holders of common shares could be compelled to sell their shares under the terms of the scheme or arrangement.

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If the acquiring party is a company by acquiring pursuant to a tender offer 90% of the shares or class of shares not already owned by, or by a nominee for, the acquiring party (the offeror), or any of its subsidiaries. If an offeror has, within four months after the making of an offer for all the shares or class of shares not owned by, or by a nominee for, the offeror, or any of its subsidiaries, obtained the approval of the holders of 90% or more of all the shares to which the offer relates, the offeror may, at any time within two months beginning with the date on which the approval was obtained, require by notice any nontendering shareholder to transfer its shares on the same terms as the original offer. In those circumstances, nontendering shareholders will be compelled to sell their shares unless the Supreme Court of Bermuda (on application made within a one-month period from the date of the offeror’s notice of its intention to acquire such shares) orders otherwise.

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Where the acquiring party or parties holds not less than 95% of the shares or a class of shares of a company, such holder(s) may, pursuant to a notice given to the remaining shareholders or class of shareholders, acquire the shares of such remaining shareholders or class of shareholders. When this notice is given, the acquiring party is entitled and bound to acquire the shares of the remaining shareholders on the terms set out in the notice, unless a remaining shareholder, within one month of receiving such notice, applies to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for an appraisal of the value of their shares. This provision only applies where the acquiring party offers the same terms to all holders of shares whose shares are being acquired.

Delaware law provides that a parent corporation, by resolution of its board of directors and without any shareholder vote, may merge with any subsidiary of which it owns at least 90% of each class of its capital stock. Upon any such merger, dissenting shareholders of the subsidiary would have appraisal rights.

Share Repurchases. The Companies Act permits a company to purchase its own shares if authorized to do so by its memorandum of association or bye-laws. Our bye-laws allow us to purchase our own shares for cancellation on such terms as our board of directors may authorize, without obtaining prior shareholder approval. Our ability to repurchase our common shares may be limited in the future by the special veto rights, if any, of the holders of our preference shares.

Delaware law permits a corporation to redeem its own shares on such terms as its board of directors may authorize, without obtaining prior shareholder approval and so long as such redemption does not impair the capital of the corporation.

Shareholders’ Suits. Class actions and derivative actions are generally not available to shareholders under Bermuda law. The Bermuda courts, however, would ordinarily be expected to permit a shareholder to commence an action in the name of a company to remedy a wrong to the company where the act complained of is alleged to be beyond the corporate power of the company or illegal, or would result in the violation of the company’s memorandum of association or bye-laws. Furthermore, consideration would be given by a Bermuda court to acts that are alleged to constitute a fraud against the minority shareholders or, for instance, where an act requires the approval of a greater percentage of the company’s shareholders than that which actually approved it.

When the affairs of a company are being conducted in a manner which is oppressive or prejudicial to the interests of some part of the shareholders, one or more shareholders may apply to the Supreme Court of Bermuda, which may make such order as it sees fit, including an order regulating the conduct of the company’s affairs in the future or ordering the purchase of the shares of any shareholders by other shareholders or by the company.

Our bye-laws contain a provision by virtue of which our shareholders waive any claim or right of action that they have, both individually and on our behalf, against any director or officer in relation to any action or failure to take action by such director or officer, except in respect of any fraud or dishonesty of such director or officer. We have been advised by the SEC that in their opinion, the operation of this provision as a waiver of the right to sue for violations of federal securities laws would likely be unenforceable in U.S. courts.

Class actions and derivative actions generally are available to shareholders under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and actions not taken in accordance with applicable law. In such actions, the court generally has discretion to permit the winning party to recover attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with such action.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers. Section 98 of the Companies Act provides generally that a Bermuda company may indemnify its directors, officers and auditors against any liability which by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise be imposed on them in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust, except in cases where such liability arises from fraud or dishonesty of which such director, officer or auditor may be guilty in relation to the company. Section 98 of the Companies Act provides that a Bermuda company may indemnify its directors, officers and auditors against any liability incurred by them in defending any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, in which judgment is awarded in their favor or in which they are acquitted or granted relief by the Supreme Court of Bermuda pursuant to section 281 of the Companies Act. Section 98 of the Companies Act further provides that a company may advance moneys to an officer or auditor for the costs, charges and expenses incurred by the officer or auditor in defending any civil or criminal proceedings against them, on condition that the officer or auditor shall repay the advance if any allegation of fraud or dishonesty is proved against them.

We have adopted provisions in our bye-laws that provide that we shall indemnify our officers and directors in respect of their actions and omissions, except in respect of their fraud or dishonesty. Our bye-laws provide that the shareholders waive all claims or rights of action that they might have, individually or in right of the company, against any of the company’s directors or officers for any act or failure to act in the performance of such director’s

or officer’s duties, except in respect of any fraud or dishonesty of such director or officer. Section 98A of the Companies Act permits us to purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any officer or director in respect of any loss or liability attaching to him in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust, whether or not we may otherwise indemnify such officer or director. We have purchased and maintain a directors’ and officers’ liability policy for such a purpose. We entered into indemnification agreements or arrangements with Fortress and our Initial Shareholder in connection with the IPO.

Under Delaware law, a corporation may include in its certificate of incorporation a provision that, subject to the limitations described below, eliminates or limits director liability to the corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for breaches of their fiduciary duty of care. Under Delaware law, a director’s liability cannot be eliminated or limited for (i) breaches of the duty of loyalty, (ii) acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) the payment of unlawful dividends or expenditure of funds for unlawful stock purchases or redemptions, or (iv) transactions from which such director derived an improper personal benefit.

Delaware law provides that a corporation may indemnify a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation against any liability or expenses incurred in any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceeding if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful, except that in any action brought by or in the right of the corporation, such indemnification may be made only for expenses (not judgments or amounts paid in settlement) and may not be made even for expenses if the officer, director or other person is adjudged liable to the corporation (unless otherwise determined by the court). In addition, under Delaware law, to the extent that a director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any proceeding referred to above, he or she must be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by that party. Furthermore, under Delaware law, a corporation is permitted to maintain directors’ and officers’ insurance.

Inspection of Corporate Records. Members of the general public have the right to inspect our public documents available at the office of the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda and our registered office in Bermuda, which will include our memorandum of association (including its objects and powers) and certain alterations to our memorandum of association. Our shareholders have the additional right to inspect our bye-laws, minutes of general meetings and audited financial statements, which must be presented to the annual general meeting of shareholders. The register of members of a company is also open to inspection by shareholders and by members of the general public without charge. The register of members and the register of directors and officers is required to be open for inspection for not less than two hours in any business day (subject to the ability of a company to close the register of members for not more than 30 days in a year). A company is required to maintain its share register in Bermuda but may, subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, establish a branch register outside of Bermuda. A company is required to keep at its registered office a register of directors and officers. Bermuda law does not, however, provide a general right for shareholders to inspect or obtain copies of any other corporate records. Delaware law provides that any shareholder of record, in person or by attorney or other agent, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose of the demand, has the right during the corporation’s usual hours for business to inspect or make copies or extracts of a corporation’s stock ledger and its other books and records for any purpose reasonably related to such person’s interest as a shareholder. In connection with any meeting of shareholders, the stock ledger of a Delaware corporation must be open to inspection by shareholders for a period of at least 10 days prior to a shareholder meeting and at all times during the shareholder meeting.

Shareholder Proposals. Under Bermuda law, shareholder(s) may, as set forth below and at their own expense (unless the company otherwise resolves), require the company to: (i) give notice to all shareholders entitled to receive notice of the annual general meeting of any resolution that the shareholder(s) may properly move at the next annual general meeting; and/or (ii) circulate to all shareholders entitled to receive notice of any general meeting a statement in respect of any matter referred to in any proposed resolution or any business to be conducted at such general meeting. The number of shareholders necessary for such a requisition is either: (i) any number of shareholders representing not less than 5% of the total voting rights of all shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting to which the requisition relates; or (ii) not less than 100 shareholders. Delaware law does not include a provision restricting the manner in which nominations for directors may be made by shareholders or the manner in which business may be brought before a meeting, although restrictions may be included in a Delaware company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws.

Calling of Special Shareholders Meetings. Under Aircastle’s bye-laws, a special general meeting may be called by the President, the chairman of the board or the board of directors. The board of directors must call a special general meeting upon the request of Fortress or any “significant shareholder” or “affiliate” of such shareholder (both as defined in the bye-laws) so long as the significant shareholder and its affiliates collectively hold shares carrying at least 10% of the votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares at the time of such request. Bermuda law also provides that a special general meeting must be called upon the request of shareholders holding not less than 10% of the paid-up capital of the company carrying the right to vote at general meetings. Delaware law permits the board of directors or any person who is authorized under a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws to call a special meeting of shareholders.

Amendment of Organizational Documents. Bermuda law provides that the memorandum of association of a company may be amended by a resolution passed at a general meeting of shareholders of which due notice has been given. Certain amendments to the memorandum of association may require approval of the Bermuda Minister of Finance, who may grant or withhold approval at his or her discretion.

Under Bermuda law, the holders of an aggregate of not less than 20% in par value of a company’s issued and outstanding share capital have the right to apply to the Bermuda courts for an annulment of any amendment of the memorandum of association adopted by shareholders at any general meeting, other than an amendment which alters or reduces a company’s share capital as provided in the Companies Act. Where such an application is made, the amendment becomes effective only to the extent that it is confirmed by the Bermuda court. An application for an annulment of an amendment of the memorandum of association must be made within 21 days after the date on which the resolution altering the company’s memorandum of association is passed and may be made on behalf of persons entitled to make the application by one or more of their designees as such holders may appoint in writing for such purpose. No application may be made by the shareholders voting in favor of the amendment.

Under Delaware law, amendment of the certificate of incorporation, which is the equivalent of a memorandum of association, of a company must be made by a resolution of the board of directors setting forth the amendment, declaring its advisability, and either calling a special meeting of the shareholders entitled to vote or directing that the proposed amendment be considered at the next annual meeting of the shareholders. Delaware law requires that, unless a greater percentage is provided for in the certificate of incorporation, a majority of the outstanding voting power of the corporation is required to approve the amendment of the certificate of incorporation at the shareholders’ meeting. If the amendment would alter the number of authorized shares or par value or otherwise adversely affect the powers, preferences or special rights of any class of a company’s stock, the holders of the issued and outstanding shares of such affected class, regardless of whether such holders are entitled to vote by the certificate of incorporation, are entitled to vote as a class upon the proposed amendment. However, the number of authorized shares of any class may be increased or decreased, to the extent not falling below the number of shares then outstanding, by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the stock entitled to vote, if so provided in the company’s original certificate of incorporation.

Amendment of Bye-laws. Except as provided below, Aircastle’s bye-laws provide that the bye-laws may only be rescinded, altered or amended upon approval by a resolution of Aircastle’s board of directors and by a resolution of our shareholders.

Those bye-laws regarding the election of directors, classes of directors, the term of office of directors, amalgamations and the bye law governing the amendment of the foregoing bye laws may only be rescinded, altered or amended upon approval by a resolution of the directors and by a resolution of our shareholders, including the affirmative votes of at least 66.0% of the votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote on such resolution.

Those bye-laws dealing with the removal of directors, corporate opportunity and the bye law governing the amendment of the foregoing bye laws may only be rescinded, altered or amended upon approval by a resolution of the directors and by a resolution of our shareholders, including the affirmative votes of at least 80.0% of the votes attaching to all shares in issue entitling the holder to vote on such resolution.

Under Delaware law, unless the certificate of incorporation or bylaws provide for a different vote, holders of a majority of the voting power of a corporation and, if so provided in the certificate of incorporation, the directors of the corporation have the power to adopt, amend and repeal the bylaws of a corporation. Those bye-laws dealing with the election of directors, classes of directors, the term of office of directors and amalgamations may only be rescinded, altered or amended upon approval by a resolution of the directors and by a resolution of shareholders carrying not less than 66% of all shares entitled to vote on the resolution.

Dissolution. Under Bermuda law, a solvent company may be wound up by way of a shareholders’ voluntary liquidation. Prior to the company entering liquidation, a majority of the directors shall each make a statutory declaration, which states that the directors have made a full enquiry into the affairs of the company and have formed the opinion that the company will be able to pay its debts within a period of 12 months of the commencement of the winding up and must file the statutory declaration with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda. The general meeting will be convened primarily for the purposes of passing a resolution that the company be wound up voluntarily and appointing a liquidator. The winding up of the company is deemed to commence at the time of the passing of the resolution.

Under Delaware law, a corporation may voluntarily dissolve (1) if a majority of the board of directors adopts a resolution to that effect and the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon vote for such dissolution; or (2) if all shareholders entitled to vote thereon consent in writing to such dissolution.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

A register of holders of the common shares is maintained by Codan Services Limited in Bermuda, and a branch register is maintained in the United States by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, who serves as branch registrar and transfer agent. The telephone number of Codan Services Limited is +1 (441) 295-5950 and of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC is +1 (212) 936-5100.

DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

This section describes the general terms and provisions of the depositary shares. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of the depositary shares offered by that prospectus supplement and any general terms outlined in this section that will not apply to those depositary shares.

We may issue depositary receipts representing interests in a particular series of preference shares which are called depositary shares. We will deposit the series of preference shares which are the subject of depositary shares with a depositary to be named in the applicable prospectus supplement, which will hold the preference shares for the benefit of the holders of the depositary shares, in accordance with a deposit agreement between the depositary and us. The holders of depositary shares will be entitled to all the rights and preferences of the preference shares to which the depositary shares relate, including dividend, voting, conversion, redemption and liquidation rights, to the extent of their interests in the preference shares.

While the deposit agreement relating to a particular series of preference shares may have provisions applicable solely to that series of preference shares, all deposit agreements relating to preference shares we issue will include the following provisions:

Dividends and Other Distributions

Each time we pay a cash dividend or make any other type of cash distribution with regard to preference shares of a series, the depositary will distribute to the holder of record of each depositary share relating to that series of preference shares an amount equal to the dividend or other distribution per depositary share the depositary receives. If there is a distribution of property other than cash, the depositary either will distribute the property to the holders of depositary shares in proportion to the depositary shares held by each of them, or the depositary will, if we approve, sell the property and distribute the net proceeds to the holders of the depositary shares in proportion to the depositary shares held by them.

Withdrawal of Preference Shares

Whenever we redeem preferred shares held by a depositary, the depositary will be required to redeem, on the same redemption date, depositary shares constituting, in total, the number of preferred shares held by the depositary which we redeem, subject to the depositary’s receiving the redemption price of those preferred shares. If fewer than all the depositary shares relating to a series are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot or by another method we determine to be equitable.

Redemption of Depositary Shares

Whenever we redeem preference shares held by a depositary, the depositary will be required to redeem, on the same redemption date, depositary shares constituting, in total, the number of preference shares held by the depositary which we redeem, subject to the depositary’s receiving the redemption price of those preference shares. If fewer than all the depositary shares relating to a series are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot or by another method we determine to be equitable.

Voting

Any time we send a notice of meeting or other materials relating to a meeting to the holders of a series of preference shares to which depositary shares relate, we will provide the depositary with sufficient copies of those materials so they can be sent to all holders of record of the applicable depositary shares, and the depositary will send those materials to the holders of record of the depositary shares on the record date for the meeting. The depositary will solicit voting instructions from holders of depositary shares and will vote or not vote the preference shares to which the depositary shares relate in accordance with those instructions.

Liquidation Preference

Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holder of a depositary share will be entitled to what the holder of the depositary share would have received if the holder had owned the number of preference shares (or fraction of a share) which is represented by the depositary share.

Conversion

If a series of preference shares are convertible into common shares or other of our securities or property, holders of depositary shares relating to that series of preference shares will, if they surrender depositary receipts representing depositary shares and appropriate instructions to convert them, receive the common shares or other securities or property into which the number of preference shares (or fractions of shares) to which the depositary shares relate could at the time be converted.

Amendment and Termination of a Deposit Agreement

We and the depositary may amend a deposit agreement, except that an amendment which materially and adversely affects the rights of holders of depositary shares, or would be materially and adversely inconsistent with the rights granted to the holders of the preference shares to which they relate, must be approved by holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding depositary shares. No amendment will impair the right of a holder of depositary shares to surrender the depositary receipts evidencing those depositary shares and receive the preference shares to which they relate, except as required to comply with law. We may terminate a deposit agreement with the consent of holders of a majority of the depositary shares to which it relates. Upon termination of a deposit agreement, the depositary will make the whole or fractional shares of preference shares to which the depositary shares issued under the deposit agreement relate available to the holders of those depositary shares. A deposit agreement will automatically terminate if:

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All outstanding depositary shares to which it relates have been redeemed or converted; and/or

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The depositary has made a final distribution to the holders of the depositary shares issued under the deposit agreement upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

Miscellaneous

There will be provisions: (1) requiring the depositary to forward to holders of record of depositary shares any reports or communications from us which the depositary receives with respect to the preference shares to which the depositary shares relate; (2) regarding compensation of the depositary; (3) regarding resignation of the depositary; (4) limiting our liability and the liability of the depositary under the deposit agreement (usually to failure to act in good faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct); and (5) indemnifying the depositary against certain possible liabilities.

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

We may offer secured or unsecured debt securities in one or more series which may be senior, subordinated or junior subordinated, and which may be convertible into another security.

The following description briefly sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities. The particular terms of the debt securities offered by any prospectus supplement and the extent, if any, to which these general provisions may apply to the debt securities, will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, our debt securities will be issued in one or more series under an indenture to be entered into between us and Wells Fargo. A form of the indenture is attached as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The terms of the debt securities will include those set forth in the applicable indenture and those made a part of the global indenture by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (“TIA”). You should read the summary below, the applicable prospectus supplement and the provisions of the applicable indenture and indenture supplement, if any, in their entirety before investing in our debt securities.

The aggregate principal amount of debt securities that may be issued under the indenture is unlimited. The prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that we may offer will contain the specific terms of the debt securities. These terms may include the following:

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the title and aggregate principal amount of the debt securities and any limit on the aggregate principal amount;

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whether the debt securities will be senior, subordinated or junior subordinated;

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whether the debt securities will be secured or unsecured;

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any applicable subordination provisions for any subordinated debt securities;

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the maturity date(s) or method for determining same;

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the interest rate(s) or the method for determining same;

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the dates on which interest will accrue or the method for determining dates on which interest will accrue and dates on which interest will be payable and whether interest shall be payable in cash or additional securities;

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whether the debt securities are convertible or exchangeable into other securities and any related terms and conditions;

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redemption or early repayment provisions;

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authorized denominations;

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if other than the principal amount, the principal amount of debt securities payable upon acceleration;

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place(s) where payment of principal and interest may be made, where debt securities may be presented and where notices or demands upon the company may be made;

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whether such debt securities will be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities and the date as which the securities are dated if other than the date of original issuance;

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amount of discount or premium, if any, with which such debt securities will be issued;

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any covenants applicable to the particular debt securities being issued;

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any additions or changes in the defaults and events of default applicable to the particular debt securities being issued;

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the guarantors of each series, if any, and the extent of the guarantees (including provisions relating to seniority, subordination, security and release of the guarantees), if any;

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the currency, currencies or currency units in which the purchase price for, the principal of and any premium and any interest on, such debt securities will be payable;

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the time period within which, the manner in which and the terms and conditions upon which the holders of the debt securities or the company can select the payment currency;

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our obligation or right to redeem, purchase or repay debt securities under a sinking fund, amortization or analogous provision;

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our obligation or right to redeem, purchase or repay debt securities under a sinking fund, amortization or analogous provision;

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any restriction or conditions on the transferability of the debt securities;

•

provisions granting special rights to holders of the debt securities upon occurrence of specified events;

•

additions or changes relating to compensation or reimbursement of the trustee of the series of debt securities;

•

additions or changes to the provisions for the defeasance of the debt securities or to provisions related to satisfaction and discharge of the indenture;

•

provisions relating to the modification of the indenture both with and without the consent of holders of debt securities issued under the indenture and the execution of supplemental indentures for such series; and

•

any other terms of the debt securities (which terms shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of the TIA, but may modify, amend, supplement or delete any of the terms of the indenture with respect to such series debt securities).

General

We may sell the debt securities, including original issue discount securities, at par or at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount. Unless we inform you otherwise in a prospectus supplement, we may issue additional debt securities of a particular series without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of such series or any other series outstanding at the time of issuance. Any such additional debt securities, together with all other outstanding debt securities of that series, will constitute a single series of securities under the indenture.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any other special considerations for any debt securities we sell which are denominated in a currency or currency unit other than U.S. dollars. In addition, debt securities may be issued where the amount of principal and/or interest payable is determined by reference to one or more currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity indices or other factors. Holders of such securities may receive a principal amount or a payment of interest that is greater than or less than the amount of principal or interest

otherwise payable on such dates, depending upon the value of the applicable currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors. Information as to the methods for determining the amount of principal or interest, if any, payable on any date, the currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors to which the amount payable on such date is linked.

Material United States federal income tax consequences and special considerations, if any, applicable to any such series will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange.

We expect most debt securities to be issued in fully registered form without coupons and in denominations of U.S.$2,000 and any integral multiples in excess thereof. Subject to the limitations provided in the indenture and in the prospectus supplement, debt securities that are issued in registered form may be transferred or exchanged at the designated corporate trust office of the trustee, without the payment of any service charge, other than any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.

Global Securities

Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities of a series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, a depositary identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Global securities will be issued in registered form and in either temporary or definitive form. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for the individual debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary for such global security to a nominee of such depositary or by a nominee of such depositary to such depositary or another nominee of such depositary or by such depositary or any such nominee to a successor of such depositary or a nominee of such successor. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any debt securities of a series and the rights of and limitations upon owners of beneficial interests in a global security will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York.

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may issue warrants for the purchase of common shares, preference shares or debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with any offered securities. The warrants may be attached to or separate from those offered securities. We will issue the warrants under warrant agreements to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company to be named in the applicable prospectus supplement, as warrant agent, all as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants.

The prospectus supplement relating to any warrants that we may offer will contain the specific terms of the warrants. These terms may include the following:

•

the title of the warrants;

•

the price or prices at which the warrants will be issued;

•

the designation, amount and terms of the securities for which the warrants are exercisable;

•

the designation and terms of the other securities, if any, with which the warrants are to be issued and the number of warrants issued with each other security;

•

the aggregate number of warrants;

•

any provisions for adjustment of the number or amount of securities receivable upon exercise of the warrants or the exercise price of the warrants;

•

the price or prices at which the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants may be purchased;

•

if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants will be separately transferable;

•

if applicable, a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the exercise of the warrants;

•

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence, and the date on which the right will expire;

•

the maximum or minimum number of warrants that may be exercised at any time;

•

information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; and

•

any other terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.

Exercise of Warrants

Each warrant will entitle the holder of the warrant to purchase for cash the amount of common shares, preference shares or debt securities at the exercise price stated or determinable in the applicable prospectus supplement for the warrants. Warrants may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date shown in the applicable prospectus supplement, unless otherwise specified in such prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void. Warrants may be exercised as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. When the warrant holder makes the payment and properly completes and signs the warrant certificate at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as possible, forward the common shares, preference shares or debt securities that the warrant holder has purchased. If the warrant holder exercises the warrant for less than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate, we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining warrants.

DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

We may issue subscription rights to purchase common shares, preference shares, debt securities or other securities. These subscription rights may be issued independently or together with any other security offered by us and may or may not be transferable by the securityholder receiving the subscription rights in such offering. In connection with any offering of subscription rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of any offering of subscription rights for which this prospectus is being delivered, including the following:

•

the price, if any, for the subscription rights;

•

the exercise price payable for each common share, preference share, debt securities or other securities upon the exercise of the subscription rights;

•

the number of subscription rights issued to each securityholder;

•

the number and terms of each common share, preference share, debt securities or other securities which may be purchased per each subscription right;

•

the extent to which the subscription rights are transferable;

•

any provisions for adjustment of the number or amount of securities receivable upon exercise of the subscription rights or the exercise price of the subscription rights;

•

any other terms of the subscription rights, including the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights;

•

the date on which the right to exercise the subscription rights shall commence, and the date on which the subscription rights shall expire;

•

the extent to which the subscription rights may include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities; and

•

if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement entered into by us in connection with the offering of subscription rights.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any subscription rights we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable subscription rights certificate or subscription rights agreement, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer subscription rights. For more information on how you can obtain copies of any subscription rights certificate or subscription rights agreement if we offer subscription rights, see “Where You Can Find More Information” on page 27 of this prospectus. We urge you to read the applicable subscription rights certificate, the applicable subscription rights agreement and any applicable prospectus supplement in their entirety.

DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS AND PURCHASE UNITS

We may issue purchase contracts for the purchase or sale of common shares, preference shares or debt securities issued by us or by third parties as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each purchase contract will entitle the holder thereof to purchase or sell, and obligate us to sell or purchase on specified dates, such securities at a specified purchase price, which may be based on a formula, all as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may, however, satisfy our obligations, if any, with respect to any purchase contract by delivering the cash value of such purchase contract or the cash value of the securities otherwise deliverable, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will also specify the methods by which the holders may purchase or sell such securities, and any acceleration, cancellation or termination provisions or other provisions relating to the settlement of a purchase contract. The price per security and the number of securities may be fixed at the time the purchase contracts are entered into or may be determined by reference to a specific formula set forth in the applicable purchase contracts.

The purchase contracts may be issued separately or as part of units consisting of a purchase contract and debt securities or debt obligations of third parties, including U.S. treasury securities, or any other securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement or any combination of the foregoing, securing the holders’ obligations to purchase the securities under the purchase contracts, which we refer to herein as “purchase units.” The purchase contracts may require holders to secure their obligations under the purchase contracts in a specified manner. The purchase contracts also may require us to make periodic payments to the holders of the purchase contracts or the purchase units, as the case may be, or vice versa, and those payments may be unsecured or pre-funded on some basis.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any purchase contract or purchase unit and will contain a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to the purchase contracts and purchase units.

SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

The following table presents certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common shares that may be sold by the selling shareholders from time to time in one or more transactions. Please see the “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” section of the proxy statement for our annual meeting of shareholders held on May 24, 2012, which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, for a description of material relationships between us and the selling shareholders. To our knowledge, none of the selling shareholders is a broker-dealer or an affiliate of a broker-dealer.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, the number of common shares subject to options or warrants held by that person that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of the date hereof are deemed outstanding. Such shares, however, are not deemed outstanding for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Except as indicated in the footnotes to the following table or pursuant to applicable community property laws, each shareholder named in the table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite such shareholder’s name. The percentages of beneficial ownership set forth below are based on 72,250,141 common shares outstanding on June 12, 2012. Information below with respect to beneficial ownership has been furnished by each selling shareholder and we have not sought to verify such information.

The address of the persons and entities listed in the table below is c/o Fortress Investment Group Holdings LLC, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 46th Floor, New York, New York 10105.


	Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to this Offering					Number of Shares Registered Hereby		Shares Beneficially Owned After Sale of All Shares Offered Hereby
Name of Beneficial Owner⁽³⁾	Number⁽¹⁾		Percentage⁽²⁾			Number of Shares Registered Hereby		Number⁽¹⁾		Percentage⁽²⁾
Wesley R. Edens⁽⁴⁾		11,750,002		16.3	%		11,750,002		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		1,979,717		2.7	%		1,979,717		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III Sub Two LLC⁽⁵⁾		1,979,716		2.7	%		1,979,716		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		1,692,691		2.3	%		1,692,691		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund B) Sub Two LLC⁽⁵⁾		1,692,691		2.3	%		1,692,691		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund C) Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		707,913		*			707,913		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund D) Sub Ltd.⁽⁵⁾		1,624,809		2.2	%		1,624,809		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Fund E) Sub Ltd.⁽⁵⁾		114,131		*			114,131		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund A) Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		332,919		*			332,919		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund B) Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		654,065		*			654,065		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund C ) Sub LLC⁽⁵⁾		168,457		*			168,457		—		—
Fortress Investment Fund III (Coinvestment Fund D) Sub Ltd.⁽⁵⁾		802,893		1.1	%		802,893		—		—

(1)	Consists of common shares held, including restricted shares, shares underlying share options exercisable within 60 days and shares underlying warrants exercisable within 60 days.

(2)	Percentage amount assumes the exercise by such persons of all options and warrants exercisable within 60 days to acquire common shares and no exercise of options or warrants by any other person.

(3)

(4)

By virtue of his voting interests in Fortress, Wesley R. Edens, our Chairman of the Board, may be deemed to beneficially own the 11,750,002 aggregate shares beneficially owned by the entities listed in the table above. Mr. Edens disclaims beneficial ownership of all of the shares described in this footnote except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein and the inclusion of such shares in this table shall not be deemed to be an admission of beneficial ownership of any of such shares for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or otherwise.

(5)	The 11,750,002 aggregate common shares offered by the Fund III Funds in this prospectus were purchased by the Fund III Funds in a private transaction prior to our initial public offering on August 8, 2006.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We or the selling shareholders may sell the applicable securities offered by this prospectus from time to time in one or more transactions, including without limitation:

•

directly to one or more purchasers;

•

through agents;

•

to or through underwriters, brokers or dealers;

•

through a combination of any of these methods.

A distribution of the securities offered by this prospectus may also be effected through the issuance of derivative securities, including without limitation, warrants, subscriptions, exchangeable securities, forward delivery contracts and the writing of options.

In addition, the manner in which we may sell some or all of the securities covered by this prospectus and the manner in which the selling shareholders may sell the common shares, include, without limitation, through:

•

a block trade in which a broker-dealer will attempt to sell as agent, but may position or resell a portion of the block, as principal, in order to facilitate the transaction;

•

purchases by a broker-dealer, as principal, and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;

•

ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker solicits purchasers; or

•

privately negotiated transactions.

We or the selling shareholders may also enter into hedging transactions. For example, we or any selling shareholder may:

•

enter into transactions with a broker-dealer or affiliate thereof in connection with which such broker-dealer or affiliate will engage in short sales of the common shares pursuant to this prospectus, in which case such broker-dealer or affiliate may use shares of common shares received from us or the selling shareholders, as applicable, to close out its short positions;

•

sell securities short and redeliver such shares to close out our or the selling shareholders’ short positions;

•

enter into option or other types of transactions that require us or the selling shareholders, as applicable, to deliver common shares to a broker-dealer or an affiliate thereof, who will then resell or transfer the common shares under this prospectus; or

•

loan or pledge the common shares to a broker-dealer or an affiliate thereof, who may sell the loaned shares or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell the pledged shares pursuant to this prospectus.

In addition, we or the selling shareholders may enter into derivative or hedging transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. In connection with such a transaction, the third parties may sell the applicable securities covered by and pursuant to this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be. If so, the third party may use securities borrowed from us or any selling shareholder or others to settle such sales and may use securities received

from us or any selling shareholder to close out any related short positions. We or any selling shareholder may also loan or pledge securities covered by this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement to third parties, who may sell the loaned securities or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be.

A prospectus supplement with respect to each offering of securities will state the terms of the offering of the securities, including:

•

the name or names of any underwriters or agents and the amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by each of them, if any;

•

the public offering price or purchase price of the securities and the net proceeds to be received by us from the sale;

•

any delayed delivery arrangements;

•

any underwriting discounts or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation;

•

any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

•

any securities exchange or markets on which the securities may be listed.

The offer and sale of the securities described in this prospectus by us, any selling shareholder, the underwriters or the third parties described above may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions, including privately negotiated transactions, either:

•

at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

•

at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

•

at prices related to the prevailing market prices; or

•

at negotiated prices.

General

Any public offering price and any discounts, commissions, concessions or other items constituting compensation allowed or reallowed or paid to underwriters, dealers, agents or remarketing firms may be changed from time to time. The selling shareholder, underwriters, dealers, agents and remarketing firms that participate in the distribution of the offered securities may be “underwriters” as defined in the Securities Act. Any discounts or commissions they receive from us or any selling shareholder and any profits they receive on the resale of the offered securities may be treated as underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. We or the selling shareholders will identify any underwriters, agents or dealers and describe their commissions, fees or discounts in the applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be.

Underwriters and Agents

If underwriters are used in a sale, they will acquire the offered securities for their own account. The underwriters may resell the offered securities in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions. These sales may be made at a fixed public offering price or prices, which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of the sale, at prices related to such prevailing market price or at negotiated prices. We or the selling shareholders may offer the securities to the public through an underwriting syndicate or through a single underwriter. The underwriters in any particular offering will be mentioned in the applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be.

Unless otherwise specified in connection with any particular offering of securities, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the offered securities will be subject to certain conditions contained in an underwriting agreement that we or the selling shareholders will enter into with the underwriters at the time of the sale to them. The underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities of the series offered if any of the securities are purchased, unless otherwise specified in connection with any particular offering of securities. Any initial offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed, reallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.

We or the selling shareholders may designate agents to sell the offered securities. Unless otherwise specified in connection with any particular offering of securities, the agents will agree to use their best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of their appointment. We or the selling shareholders may also sell the offered securities to one or more remarketing firms, acting as principals for their own accounts or as agents for us or any selling shareholder. These firms will remarket the offered securities upon purchasing them in accordance with a redemption or repayment pursuant to the terms of the offered securities. A prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be will identify any remarketing firm and will describe the terms of its agreement, if any, with us or any selling shareholder and its compensation.

In connection with offerings made through underwriters or agents, we or the selling shareholders may enter into agreements with such underwriters or agents pursuant to which we or the selling shareholders receive our outstanding securities in consideration for the securities being offered to the public for cash. In connection with these arrangements, the underwriters or agents may also sell securities covered by this prospectus to hedge their positions in these outstanding securities, including in short sale transactions. If so, the underwriters or agents may use the securities received from us or any selling shareholder under these arrangements to close out any related open borrowings of securities.

Dealers

We or the selling shareholders may sell the offered securities to dealers as principals. We may negotiate and pay dealers’ commissions, discounts or concessions for their services. The dealer may then resell such securities to the public either at varying prices to be determined by the dealer or at a fixed offering price agreed to with us or any selling shareholder at the time of resale. Dealers engaged by us or any selling shareholder may allow other dealers to participate in resales.

Direct Sales

We or the selling shareholders may choose to sell the offered securities directly. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved.

Institutional Purchasers

We or the selling shareholders may authorize agents, dealers or underwriters to solicit certain institutional investors to purchase offered securities on a delayed delivery basis pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified future date. The applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be, will provide the details of any such arrangement, including the offering price and commissions payable on the solicitations.

We or the selling shareholders will enter into such delayed contracts only with institutional purchasers that we or the selling shareholders, as applicable, approve(s). These institutions may include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies and educational and charitable institutions.

Indemnification; Other Relationships

We or the selling shareholders may have agreements with agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms to indemnify them against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms, and their affiliates, may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us or any selling shareholder in the ordinary course of business. This includes commercial banking and investment banking transactions.

Market-Making, Stabilization and Other Transactions

There is currently no market for any of the offered securities, other than the common shares which are listed on the NYSE. If the offered securities are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price, depending upon prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities and other factors. While it is possible that an underwriter could inform us that it intends to make a market in the offered securities, such underwriter would not be obligated to do so, and any such market-making could be discontinued at any time without notice. Therefore, no assurance can be given as to whether an active trading market will develop for the offered securities. We have no current plans for listing of the debt securities, preference shares or warrants on any securities exchange or quotation system; any such listing with respect to any particular debt securities, preference shares or warrants will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be.

In connection with any offering of common shares, preference shares, debt securities or securities that provide for the issuance of our common shares upon conversion, exchange or exercise, as the case may be, the underwriters may purchase and sell common shares, preference shares or our debt securities in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, syndicate covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve syndicate sales of common shares in excess of the number of shares to be purchased by the underwriters in the offering, which creates a syndicate short position. “Covered” short sales are sales of shares made in an amount up to the number of shares represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered syndicate short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the over-allotment option. Transactions to close out the covered syndicate short involve either purchases of the common shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed or the exercise of the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also make “naked” short sales of shares in excess of the over-allotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing common shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of bids for or purchases of shares in the open market while the offering is in progress for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities.

In connection with any offering, the underwriters may also engage in penalty bids. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. Stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.

Fees and Commissions

In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the aggregate maximum discount, commission or agency fees or other items constituting underwriting compensation to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer will not exceed 8% of any offering pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be; however, it is anticipated that the maximum commission or discount to be received in any particular offering of securities will be significantly less than this amount.

LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, certain legal matters as to U.S. and New York law will be passed upon for us by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, New York. Certain legal matters as to Bermuda law will be passed upon for us by Conyers Dill & Pearman Limited, Hamilton, Bermuda. If the validity of any securities is also passed upon by counsel for the underwriters of an offering of those securities, that counsel will be named in the prospectus supplement relating to that offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Aircastle Limited appearing in Aircastle Limited’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and the effectiveness of Aircastle Limited’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain items in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not necessarily limited to, statements relating to our ability to acquire, sell, lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income and the global aviation industry and aircraft leasing sector. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “estimates” and variations on these words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors that could lead to actual results materially different from those described in the forward-looking statements; Aircastle Limited can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplements or the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein. Factors that could have a material adverse effect on our operations and future prospects or that could cause actual results to differ materially from Aircastle Limited’s expectations include, but are not limited to, significant capital markets disruption and volatility and the significant contraction in the availability of bank financing, which may adversely affect our continued ability to obtain additional capital to finance our working capital needs; volatility in the value of our aircraft or in appraisals thereof, which may, among other things, result in increased principal payments under our term financings and reduce our cash flow available for investment or dividends; general economic conditions and business conditions affecting demand for aircraft and lease rates; our continued ability to obtain favorable tax treatment in Bermuda, Ireland and other jurisdictions; our ability to pay dividends; high or volatile fuel prices, lack of access to capital, reduced load factors and/or reduced yields, operational disruptions or unavailability of capital caused by political unrest in North Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere, uncertainties in the Eurozone arising from the sovereign debt crisis and other factors affecting the creditworthiness of our airline customers and their ability to continue to perform their obligations under our leases; termination payments on our interest rate hedges; and other risks detailed from time to time in Aircastle Limited’s filings with the SEC, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Aircastle to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. Aircastle Limited expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC under the Exchange Act. You may inspect without charge any documents filed by us at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site, www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including Aircastle Limited. Our common shares are listed and traded on the NYSE. You may also inspect the information we file with the SEC at the NYSE’s offices at 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005. Information about us, including our SEC filings, is also available at our internet site at http://www.aircastle.com. However, the information on our internet site is not part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered part of this prospectus, and information filed with the SEC subsequent to this prospectus and prior to the termination of the particular offering referred to in such prospectus supplement will automatically be deemed to update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement the documents listed below (excluding any portions of such documents that have been “furnished” but not “filed” for purposes of the Exchange Act):

•

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, filed on February 29, 2012;

•

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, filed on May 3, 2012;

•

Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 23, 2012, March 8, 2012, April 5, 2012, May 24, 2012, June 5, 2012 and June 8, 2012;

•

Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, as filed with the SEC on April 13, 2012; and

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The description of our common shares set forth in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed on July 25, 2006, and any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

We also incorporate by reference any future filings made by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act between the date of this prospectus and the date all of the securities offered hereby are sold or the offering is otherwise terminated, with the exception of any information furnished under Item 2.02 and Item 7.01 of Form 8-K (including related exhibits), which is not deemed filed and which is not incorporated by reference herein. Any such filings shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference and to be a part of this prospectus from the respective dates of filing of those documents.

We will provide without charge upon written or oral request to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, a copy of any and all of the documents which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus (other than exhibits unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in such documents).

You may request a copy of these documents by writing or telephoning us at:

Aircastle Limited

c/o Aircastle Advisor LLC

300 First Stamford Place, 5th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

(203) 504-1020

9,250,000 Shares

LOGO

AIRCASTLE LIMITED

Common Shares

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

Goldman, Sachs & Co.