FTAI Aviation priced its strategic capital vehicle’s inaugural asset-backed securitization, FTAI MRE 2026-1. The offering consists of $612 million of notes backed by a portfolio of 48 A320ceo and 737NG aircraft on-lease to 23 airlines globally. FTAI MRE 2026-1 will issue two classes of investment grade notes, with the Series A notes expected to be rated Asf / A(sf) by Fitch and KBRA, respectively, and the Series B notes expected to be rated BBB+sf by Fitch. The transaction is expected to close on June 4, 2026.
The aircraft backing the ABS are owned by FTAI’s first strategic capital vehicle, which completed its fundraising in October 2025 with $2 billion of equity commitments and currently owns 292 aircraft. The transaction generated strong investor demand, with both classes of notes oversubscribed.
“This inaugural securitization is an important milestone for FTAI and our strategic capital vehicles as we diversify our financing sources and deepen our presence in the capital markets,” Kallie Steffes, head of strategic capital at FTAI, said. “We believe the strong investor interest in the offering is an affirmation of our differentiated approach to investing in narrowbody aircraft, which combines FTAI’s leading engine maintenance capabilities with aircraft ownership. We are grateful to the ATLAS SP Partners and Deutsche Bank teams for their partnership since the launch of our initial warehouse through this ABS issuance.”
ATLAS SP Partners and Deutsche Bank served as joint structuring agents and joint lead bookrunners on the transaction. BNP Paribas, Citigroup and PNC Capital Markets served as joint bookrunners and Standard Chartered Bank and KeyBanc Capital Markets served as co-managers.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as issuer’s counsel, Milbank served as initial purchaser’s counsel and McGuireWoods served as servicer’s counsel. Alton Aviation Consultancy will serve as maintenance support provider, and Collateral Verifications, AISI and mba Aviation will serve as appraisers. Pivotal Corporate AMS Limited will serve as managing agent and UMB Bank will serve as security trustee.
