Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Frank Constantinople – SVP, Investor Relations

Tel: +1-203-504-1063

fconstantinople@aircastle.com

The IGB Group

Leon Berman

Tel: +1-212-477-8438

lberman@igbir.com

Aircastle Announces First Quarter 2016 Results

$1 Billion in New Liquidity; Growing Investment Activity

Second Quarter 2016 Dividend of $0.24 per Common Share

Key Financial Metrics

First Quarter 2016 Highlights

Stamford, CT. May 4, 2016 – Aircastle Limited (the “Company” or “Aircastle”) (NYSE: AYR) reported first quarter 2016 net income of $36.3 million, or $0.46 per diluted common share and adjusted net income of $44.1 million, or $0.56 per diluted common share. The first quarter results included total lease rental and finance lease revenues of $183.1 million, an increase of 2%, versus $178.8 million in the first quarter of 2015.

Note: Non-GAAP items reconciled in the Appendix.

Commenting on the results, Ron Wainshal, Aircastle’s CEO, stated “Aircastle raised more than $1 billion in liquidity since the start of the year, putting the Company in an excellent position to capture attractive new investments. By not having our capital tied up in long-term commitments, we are able to seize upon good buying opportunities such as we are seeing in the market presently. We closed or have line of sight to more than $850 million in acquisitions for 2016 so far, and I’m optimistic about increasing this amount substantially.”

Mr. Wainshal continued, “At the same time, Aircastle continued to deliver strong financial and operational results, with solid earnings and cash ROE during the first quarter. Fleet utilization during the period was nearly 100% and we continued to make progress on de-risking the business and improving our portfolio. Finally, we’re realizing tangible benefits from our strong relationship with our largest shareholder, Marubeni, both in the financial markets and through a new leasing joint venture.”

Financial Results

First Quarter Results

Total revenues were $183.7 million, a decrease of $10.6 million, or 5% from the previous year, driven by a $16.8 million decrease in maintenance revenues. During the first quarter of 2015, we recorded $18.1 million of maintenance revenue, primarily from two scheduled lease expirations with significant return compensation payments.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $183.9 million, down $6.3 million, or 3% from the first quarter of 2015, due primarily to lower maintenance revenues of $16.8 million, partially offset by higher gains from aircraft sales of $6.6 million and higher lease rental and finance lease revenues of $4.3 million.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $44.1 million, down $6.4 million year over year. The decrease was due primarily to lower total revenues of $10.6 million, partially offset by higher gains from aircraft sales of $6.6 million.

Aviation Assets

During the first quarter of 2016, we acquired three aircraft for approximately $100 million and have commitments to acquire 26 additional aircraft later this year for more than $750 million. These 29 aircraft have a weighted average age of seven years and most are expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Narrow-body aircraft comprise 26 of the total.

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Also during the first quarter of 2016, we sold twelve aircraft and other flight equipment for more than $300 million and recorded a gain on sale of $12.8 million. The aircraft sold consisted of two A330s and ten A320s including four newer A320s sold into our joint venture with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The weighted average age of aircraft sold was approximately nine years.

As of March 31, 2016, Aircastle owned and managed 162 aircraft with a value of $6.4 billion. Of these, 153 aircraft having a net book value of $5.8 billion are owned. We also manage nine aircraft with a net book value of approximately $590 million dollars on behalf of our joint venture with Ontario Teachers’.

Financing Activity

During the first quarter of 2016, we issued $500 million in unsecured Senior Notes due 2023 bearing a coupon of 5.00%, at par, and further increased the size of our unsecured revolving credit facility by $75 million, to $675 million. The term of our revolver was also extended one year to May 2020. We also closed a three-year $120 million term financing facility with a group of Japanese financial institutions led by Development Bank of Japan.

We submitted notice to prepay our Securitization No. 2 in May. Repaying this facility will free up approximately $500 million in collateral, further enhancing the Company’s financial position.

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IBJ Leasing Joint Venture

Through our relationship with Marubeni Corporation, we established a new joint venture with the leasing arm of Industrial Bank of Japan. This new venture is targeted at new narrow-body aircraft leased to premier airlines providing Aircastle with better access to this market sector and to these customers.

Common Dividend and Share Repurchase Activity

On May 2, 2016, Aircastle’s Board of Directors declared a second quarter 2016 cash dividend on its common shares of $0.24 per share, payable on June 15, 2016 to shareholders of record on May 31, 2016. This is our 40^th consecutive dividend.

During the first quarter, we repurchased over 1.6 million shares at an average cost of $18.83. Since 2011, we’ve repurchased $188.5 million of our shares, at an average cost of $13.21.

Conference Call

In connection with this earnings release, management will host an earnings conference call on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. Eastern time. All interested parties are welcome to participate on the live call. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (888) 395-3227 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (719) 325-2329 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start and referencing the passcode “1241960”.

A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at www.aircastle.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. A replay of the webcast will be available for one month following the call. In addition to this earnings release an accompanying power point presentation has been posted to the Investor Relations section of Aircastle’s website.

For those who are not available to listen to the live call, a replay will be available until 1:00 P.M. Eastern time on Friday, June 3, 2016 by dialing (888) 203-1112 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (719) 457-0820 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada); please reference passcode “1241960”.

About Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world. As of March 31, 2016, Aircastle owned and managed on behalf of its joint ventures 162 aircraft on lease with 53 customers located in 33 countries.

Safe Harbor

All statements in this press release, other than characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, statements relating to our proposed public offering of notes and our ability to acquire, sell, lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA, Adjusted 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 our historical

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performance and that of our subsidiaries and on our current plans, estimates and expectations 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 can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of this press release. These risks or uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described from time to time in Aircastle’s filings with the SEC and previously disclosed under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Aircastle’s 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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 press release. Aircastle expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement to reflect future events or circumstances.

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Dollars in thousands, except share data)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Selected Financial Guidance Elements for the Second Quarter of 2016

($ in millions, except for percentages)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Supplemental Financial Information

(Amount in thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

Refer to the selected information accompanying this press release for a reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP information.

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

We define EBITDA as income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, interest expense, and depreciation and amortization. We use EBITDA to assess our consolidated financial and operating performance, and we believe this non-US GAAP measure is helpful in identifying trends in our performance.

This measure provides an assessment of controllable expenses and affords management the ability to make decisions which are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieving optimal financial performance. It provides an indicator for management to determine if adjustments to current spending decisions are needed.

EBITDA provides us with a measure of operating performance because it assists us in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis as it removes the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges on our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results. Accordingly, this metric measures our financial performance based on operational factors that management can impact in the short-term, namely the cost structure, or expenses, of the organization. EBITDA is one of the metrics used by senior management and the board of directors to review the consolidated financial performance of our business.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA (as defined above) further adjusted to give effect to adjustments required in calculating covenant ratios and compliance as that term is defined in the indenture governing our senior unsecured notes. Adjusted EBITDA is a material component of these covenants.

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Cash Return on Equity Calculation

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

Note: LTM Average Shareholders’ Equity is the average of the most recent five quarters period end Shareholders’ Equity. Management believes that the cash return on equity metric (Cash ROE) when viewed in conjunction with the Company’s results under US GAAP and the above reconciliation, provide useful information about operating and period-over-period performance, and provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the underlying operating performance of our business without regard to periodic reporting impacts related to non-cash revenue and expense items and interest rate derivative accounting, while recognizing the depreciating nature of our assets.

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Net Cash Interest Margin Calculation

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Reconciliation of Net Income Allocable to Common Shares

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

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Aircastle Limited and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

Reconciliation of Net Income Allocable to Common Shares

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

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