Wheels Up Experience Inc.

What they do

The company sells private flying through the Wheels Up Signature Membership program and through pay-as-you-go charter solutions. Members pay a monthly fee plus a Membership Fund advance, then choose between the Dynamic Access Plan and the Fixed Access Plan. It operates as one reportable segment, private aviation services, and also offers Custom Enterprise Solutions to corporate customers plus cargo and group charters. The Delta Air Lines partnership lets members earn Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion status and use Membership Funds on discounted Delta flights.

Revenue drivers

• Flight revenue — The largest source, from members' use of Membership Fund advances and from on-demand and wholesale charter flights, including catering and ground transportation.
• Membership revenue — Fees from the membership program, which now centers on Wheels Up Signature Membership following its September 2025 launch.
• Other revenue — Complementary activities including cargo flights, group charter and government and defense solutions.
• Charter solutions — Pay-as-you-go private jet booking, group charters of 15 or more passengers, sports teams and tour operations, plus Air Partner Cargo services.

Recent performance

Second quarter 2026 GAAP revenue was $182.0 million, down 4% year over year, which the company attributed mainly to 2025 dispositions of non-core services businesses; private jet flight revenue was flat. Total Gross Bookings fell 8% to $241.8 million on lower U.S. private jet charter volume tied to sales force transformation inefficiencies. Gross profit was $9.6 million, up $7 million year over year, while net loss widened $25 million to $107 million, or $(2.97) per share, driven by higher interest and aircraft lease costs and a $13 million non-cash impairment on legacy fleet retirement. Adjusted EBITDAR loss improved 27% to $19.9 million. Full year 2025 revenue was $736.5 million with a $294.2 million net loss.

Strategy

Management completed the jet fleet modernization strategy about 18 months ahead of plan in May 2026, retiring all remaining Cessna Citation X and Hawker 400XP aircraft so the controlled fleet is now entirely Challenger 300 and Phenom 300 series jets. New membership sales were limited to Signature Membership beginning January 2026, and the company is scaling the Phenom and Challenger fleets. Cost reduction actions targeting approximately $70 million in annual cash savings were substantially completed in the second quarter of 2026. Technology investment, including BrokerOS, is intended to grow the charter business.

Risks

• Fleet transition execution — The fleet modernization strategy has been capital and resource intensive, requiring personnel training and potentially additional debt, and benefits may not arrive on the anticipated timeline.
• Losses and cash burn — The company reported a $294.2 million net loss for 2025 and $107 million net loss in the second quarter of 2026, with operating cash flow of negative $166.3 million in 2025.
• Charter volume softness — Second quarter 2026 Gross Bookings fell 8% year over year on lower U.S. private jet charter volume attributed to transitory process and technology inefficiencies from the sales force transformation.
• Balance sheet leverage — At June 30, 2026 total liabilities were $1.49 billion against $926.6 million of total assets, with shareholder equity of negative $560.3 million and $581.2 million of long-term debt.

Outlook

Management says it expects the full impact of the roughly $70 million in annual cost savings to be reflected in results by the end of 2026 relative to a second quarter of 2025 baseline. It cites 119 Brand Days through July 2026, surpassing its full-year goal, a 99.4% Completion Rate and 86.8% On-Time Performance (A-30) in the second quarter. The company announced a multi-year extension of Delta's $100 million revolving credit facility commitment. CEO George Mattson said technology investments like BrokerOS are expected to drive charter growth in the second half.