WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) ? This week?s IPO market got off to a decent start on Tuesday with an offering from jet-leasing company Aircastle Ltd., the first deal to price well in nearly two weeks.

The Bermuda-registered company?s stock closed at $26.60 ? 3 percent below its opening price of $27.45 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, but still up 16 percent from its initial public offering price of $23 a share. The company sold 9.09 million shares at the high end of its expected price range.

Aircastle, which leases 42 jets to passenger and cargo airlines, benefits from the trend of more companies outsourcing rather than owning their fleets. Lease rates for aircraft have also recovered from a downturn that lasted from 2001 to 2003.

Demand for Aircastle?s leased planes is tied to the fortunes of the airline industry, which is highly cyclical and can be affected by everything from economic concerns to terrorism. But given the current environment for leasing, the company plans to continue growing by acquiring more jet and other asset-backed aviation assets, including debt securities. As of July 18, Aircastle had acquired or committed to acquire about $1.6 billion in aviation assets in 34 separate transactions. Aircastle reported revenue in its first quarter of $33 million, compared with $2.2 million in the same period of 2005; income was $11.2 million compared with a loss of $1.4 million. Aircastle said in its prospectus that the two periods aren?t easily compared because it only had six aircraft in the first quarter of 2005; the company started in October 2004.

Fortress Investment Group, which formed Aircastle in 2004, did not sell any shares in the IPO, but it did benefit from two special dividends worth $22 million that have been paid out to the company?s owners since July. New investors in the IPO won?t share in that income, but will receive quarterly dividends from the stock at a rate that has not yet been determined.

Fortress funds continue to own 80 percent of the company?s stock after the IPO.