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As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 29, 2025
Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

FTAI Aviation Ltd.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman Islands
 
98-1420784
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

415 West 13th Street, 7th Floor
New York, New York
 
10014
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
 
(Zip Code)

FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2025 Omnibus Incentive Award Plan
(Full title of the plan)

BoHee Yoon, Esq.
General Counsel and Secretary
415 West 13th Street, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10014
(Name and address of agent for service)

(332) 239-7600
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Michael J. Schwartz, Esq.
Peter D. Serating, Esq.
Blair T. Thetford, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
One Manhattan West
New York, New York 10001
(212) 735-3000

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

       
Large accelerated filer
Accelerated filer
       
Non-accelerated filer
Smaller reporting company
       
   
Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐



EXPLANATORY NOTE

This registration statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) is being filed for the purpose of registering 5,750,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.01 per share, of FTAI Aviation Ltd. that may be issued and sold pursuant to the FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2025 Omnibus Incentive Award Plan.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

Item 1.
Plan Information.*

Item 2.
Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*

* The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to employees as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents need not be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

In this Registration Statement, unless otherwise specified or the context requires otherwise, we use the terms the “Company,” “Registrant,” “we,” “us” and “our” to refer to FTAI Aviation Ltd. and its subsidiaries.

Item 3.
Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The Company hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents of the Registrant (except for the portions of Current Reports on Form 8-K furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 thereof or otherwise not filed with the Commission, which are deemed not to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement):

  (a)
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Commission on March 3, 2025 (the “Form 10-K”);

(b)
Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2025, filed with the Commission on May 5, 2025 and our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on January 21, 2025, February 20, 2025, April 16, 2025 and May 2, 2025; and

(c)
The description of our securities set forth in Exhibit 4.13 of our Form 10-K, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Whenever after the date of this Registration Statement we file reports or documents under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), those reports and documents will be deemed to be a part of this Registration Statement from the time they are filed (other than documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with Commission rules). Any statement made in this Registration Statement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement or in any other subsequently filed document that is also incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.


Item 4.
Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5.
Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6.
Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Articles”) provide that our directors shall not, to the maximum extent permitted by law, be liable to us for any loss or damage incurred by us as a result (whether direct or indirect) of the carrying out of their functions unless that liability arises through the actual fraud, willful neglect or willful default of such director, and provided further that such director acted in good faith and in a manner such director reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to our best interests and had no reasonable cause to believe such director’s conduct was unlawful.

Our Articles provide that we indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law. We are also expressly authorized to advance certain expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements and court costs) to our directors and officers and carry directors’ and officers’ insurance providing indemnification for our directors and officers for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and officers.

We have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement provides, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law and our Articles against (i) any and all expenses and liabilities, including judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement of any claim with our approval and counsel fees and disbursements, (ii) any liability pursuant to a loan guarantee, or otherwise, for any of our indebtedness, and (iii) any liabilities incurred as a result of acting on our behalf (as a fiduciary or otherwise) in connection with an employee benefit plan. The indemnification agreements provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the indemnitee and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law and our Articles.

Item 7.
Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8.
Exhibits.

Exhibit No.
Description
   
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 14, 2022).
   
Opinion of Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP as to legality.
   
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
   
Consent of Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP as to legality (included in Exhibit 5.1).
   
Powers of Attorney (included on the signature pages hereto).
   
FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2025 Omnibus Incentive Award Plan (incorporated by reference to Annex A to the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed April 16, 2025).
   
Filing Fee Table.

*
Filed herewith.


Item 9.
Undertakings.

(a)
The Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement; Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in City of New York, State of New York, on May 29, 2025.

 
FTAI AVIATION LTD.
     
 
By:
/s/ Joseph P. Adams, Jr.
   
Name: Joseph P. Adams, Jr.
   
Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer


POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW BY ALL THESE PRESENT that the individuals whose signatures appear below constitute and appoint each of Joseph P. Adams Jr. and Eun (Angela) Nam to be their lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents with full and several powers of substitution, in their names, places and steads and on their behalves, and in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement and to sign any and all additional registration statements relating to the Registration Statement and filed pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto each said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing which said attorney-in-fact and agent may deem necessary or advisable to be done or performed in connection with any or all of the above described matters, as fully as each of the undersigned could do if personally present and acting, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

NAME
TITLE
DATE
 
 
 
/s/ Joseph P. Adams, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
May 29, 2025
Joseph P. Adams, Jr.
 
 
 
/s/ Eun (Angela) Nam
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
May 29, 2025
Eun (Angela) Nam
 
 
         
/s/ Shyam Gidumal
 
Director
 
May 29, 2025
Shyam Gidumal
       
         
/s/ Paul R. Goodwin
Director
May 29, 2025
Paul R. Goodwin
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Judith A. Hannaway
Director
May 29, 2025
Judith A. Hannaway
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ A. Andrew Levison
Director
May 29, 2025
A. Andrew Levison
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Ray M. Robinson
Director
May 29, 2025
Ray M. Robinson
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Martin Tuchman
Director
May 29, 2025
Martin Tuchman