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Here are 1-2 brief analogies for Wheels Up Experience (UP):

• Uber for private jets
• Amazon for private aviation

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• Multi-tiered membership programs: Offer various levels of access and benefits for private aviation services.
• On-demand flights: Provide booking for private flights across diverse aircraft categories on short notice.
• Aircraft management: Comprehensive services for private aircraft owners, including operations, maintenance, and staffing.
• Retail and wholesale charter: Facilitate booking private aircraft for individual clients and other aviation providers.
• Whole aircraft acquisitions and sales: Assist clients with the purchase and sale of private jets.
• Corporate flight solutions: Tailored private aviation services designed for business travel needs.
• Special missions: Provide private aircraft services for unique, specialized, or complex operational requirements.
• Signature events and experiences: Curated luxury events and unique travel experiences facilitated by private aviation.
• Private aviation solutions for commercial travel needs: Offer private jet alternatives for travel requirements typically fulfilled by commercial airlines, especially for corporate clients.

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Wheels Up Experience Inc. primarily serves a diverse customer base consisting of both affluent individuals and corporate clients, rather than a few major corporate customers in the traditional sense. Its services cater to those seeking private aviation solutions for various personal and business needs. The major customer categories include:

• Affluent Individuals and Families: This segment includes high-net-worth individuals and families who prioritize convenience, privacy, and luxury for personal travel, leisure, and lifestyle needs. They are typically users of Wheels Up's multi-tiered membership programs and on-demand flight services.
• Corporate Clients and Businesses: Corporations and businesses utilize Wheels Up for executive travel, client transportation, team logistics, and other time-sensitive business needs. They often leverage corporate flight solutions, retail charter services, and potentially fractional ownership or aircraft management for their business operations.
• Aircraft Owners and Other Aviation Operators: Wheels Up provides comprehensive aircraft management services to individuals or entities who own private aircraft, handling operations, maintenance, and crewing. Additionally, the company engages in wholesale charter, serving other charter brokers or aviation operators who may utilize Wheels Up's fleet and services to fulfill their own client demands.

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• Textron Inc. (TXT)
• Embraer S.A. (ERJ)
• General Dynamics Corporation (GD)
• Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.

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George Mattson, Chief Executive Officer

George Mattson has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Wheels Up since October 2023. Prior to joining Wheels Up, he spent nearly 20 years as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and co-head of the Global Industrials Group, focusing on transportation and airline clients. After leaving Goldman Sachs in 2012, Mr. Mattson became a private investor and corporate board member. He served on the boards of Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM. Since 2014, he has been the lead investor and Chairman of Tropic Ocean Airways. He also briefly served as President of Star Mountain Capital, a specialized private investment firm, in 2023. Mr. Mattson has made several control equity investments in lower middle-market private industrial companies and successfully raised two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in 2020 and 2021, completing merger transactions for both.

John Verkamp, Chief Financial Officer

John Verkamp was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Wheels Up, effective March 31, 2025. He joined Wheels Up after more than 20 years at General Electric Company (GE) and GE Vernova Inc. During his tenure, he held various financial leadership positions within GE's Aerospace and Vernova organizations, including Vice President and CFO of Gas Power Global Services at GE Vernova, and CFO for Gas Power Commercial and Services and Avio Aero. He also served as Chief Risk Officer at GE Aviation.

Dave Holtz, Chief Operating Officer

Dave Holtz serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Wheels Up. He joined the company in March 2022, initially as Chairman of Operations, where he led the establishment of the Member Operations Center. Before his time at Wheels Up, Mr. Holtz had a distinguished career of over 40 years at Delta Air Lines, including a decade as Senior Vice President of its Operations and Customer Center.

Mark Briffa, Chief Sales Officer

Mark Briffa became the Chief Sales Officer of Wheels Up in June 2025, a role that unifies global sales across Membership and Charter offerings. He previously held executive roles at Wheels Up, including EVP, Charter and CEO of Air Partner. Mr. Briffa was the Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Air Partner prior to Wheels Up's acquisition of the company in April 2022. He brings over 30 years of experience in the aviation sector.

Meaghan Wells, Chief Growth Officer

Meaghan Wells was appointed Chief Growth Officer for Wheels Up in June 2025, a new role designed to unify key growth functions. She joined Wheels Up in November 2024 as EVP, Enterprise Strategy and Planning. Prior to joining Wheels Up, Ms. Wells held a leadership role at Vista Global, where her focus was on strategic finance and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to drive growth.

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The key risks to Wheels Up Experience Inc. (UP) are primarily centered around its financial viability, market dynamics, and operational execution.

1. Inability to Achieve and Sustain Profitability and Positive Cash Flow: Wheels Up has a consistent history of net losses and negative cash flow, raising significant concerns about its long-term financial health. For instance, the company reported a substantial net loss of $339.6 million in 2024, alongside a 36.8% decrease in revenue, primarily due to a reduction in active members and live flight legs. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, the net loss was approximately $265.3 million. Despite efforts to streamline operations and cut costs, the company continues to face challenges in generating consistent profits and positive cash flow, which could necessitate further capital infusions or impact its ability to operate effectively.
2. Fluctuating Demand and Intense Competition in a Sensitive Market: The private aviation industry is highly competitive and susceptible to broader economic conditions and shifts in consumer behavior. Wheels Up is exposed to variations in demand for its services, which directly influence membership growth and flight utilization. The company has experienced declines in active members and flight activity, which negatively impacts revenue. Additionally, the business is exposed to market risks, such as volatile fuel costs, which are a significant component of its operating expenses and can affect both demand and profit margins.
3. Operational Challenges and Workforce Shortages: Wheels Up faces inherent operational risks, including its reliance on a limited number of aircraft manufacturers and third-party service providers, which can lead to increased costs and potential disruptions in service. Furthermore, the company contends with industry-wide challenges in attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, particularly pilots, due to shortages and stringent qualification standards. Past issues with pilot shortages, mechanical delays, and other supply constraints have adversely affected the company's operational efficiency and bottom line, leading to flight delays, cancellations, and deferred bookings.

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The emergence of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) services, leveraging Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, poses a clear emerging threat. Companies like Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are rapidly progressing towards commercialization of eVTOL aircraft, aiming to offer cost-effective, point-to-point air travel for shorter distances, potentially bypassing traditional airports. This technology could disrupt Wheels Up's short-to-mid range private flight services and membership programs by offering a significantly cheaper, more sustainable, and potentially more convenient alternative for regional travel, similar to how ride-sharing services disrupted traditional taxis.

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Addressable Market Sizes for Wheels Up Experience Inc.'s Main Products and Services:

• Private Aviation Services (Multi-tiered membership programs and on-demand flights): The American private jet charter market, which encompasses on-demand flights and membership programs, is estimated to be approximately $28.9 billion in 2025. North America is a dominant region in the broader private aircraft market and the air charter services market. The private jet charter services market in North America accounted for 81.93% of the global revenue in 2025.
• Aircraft Management Services: The North American market for aircraft management services was approximately $1.82 billion in 2023. This is based on North America accounting for roughly 35% of the global aircraft management service market, which was valued at approximately $5.2 billion in 2023.

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1. Fleet Modernization and Expansion: Wheels Up is actively pursuing a long-term strategy to standardize and expand its fleet, focusing on Bombardier Challenger 300 series and Embraer Phenom 300-series aircraft. This modernization aims to meet anticipated demand and enhance the customer experience, directly supporting increased flight capacity and revenue generation. The company plans to materially expand these fleets in 2026 to address demand.
2. Growth of Signature Membership: The recently launched Wheels Up Signature Membership, introduced in September 2025, is a key driver for future revenue. This premium membership offers guaranteed access to the modernized Phenom and Challenger fleets, and the company is strategically shifting new sales towards this product to increase its mix of higher-margin premium members.
3. Expansion in Corporate and International Charter Services: Wheels Up expects to drive revenue growth through increased engagement with corporate customers and the expansion of its international charter business. The company has seen strength in corporate block sales, partly attributed to its partnership with Delta Air Lines. Growth in international charter trips also indicates increasing customer confidence in Wheels Up's global capabilities.

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Share Repurchases

• Wheels Up Experience conducted share repurchases of $485,000 in 2024 and $28,000 in 2023.
• The company announced an Equity Buyback program for $10 million worth of its shares on May 1, 2025.

Share Issuance

• In Q2 2021, Wheels Up went public through a SPAC merger with Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle Corp., a transaction that generated up to $790 million in cash proceeds, including a $550 million Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) and $240 million from the SPAC's trust account.
• As part of a $500 million credit facility in August/September 2023, Wheels Up issued new Class A common stock to lenders (Delta Air Lines, Certares, Knighthead, and Cox), resulting in these lenders owning approximately 95% of the company's pro forma equity on a fully diluted basis.
• As of March 9, 2026, 671,239,941 shares of common stock were issued to lenders under the credit agreement.

Inbound Investments

• Wheels Up received up to $790 million in cash proceeds from its SPAC merger in February 2021, including a $550 million PIPE from institutional investors.
• In August/September 2023, Delta Air Lines, Certares, and Knighthead, joined by Cox Enterprises, provided a $500 million credit facility to Wheels Up, structured as a term loan and a revolving liquidity facility.

Outbound Investments

• Wheels Up acquired Mountain Aviation in January 2021 and Air Partner for $114 million in January 2022.
• In February 2022, the company acquired Alante Air for $107 million.
• In August 2025, Wheels Up divested three non-core services businesses (Baines Simmons, Kenyon International Emergency Services, and Redline Assured Security) to TrustFlight for $20 million.

Capital Expenditures

• Wheels Up initiated a capital-intensive fleet modernization strategy in October 2024, aiming to transition its jet fleet to Embraer Phenom 300 series and Bombardier Challenger 300 series aircraft, with completion targeted by year-end 2026.
• To support this modernization, in October 2024, the company secured a new five-year, up to $332 million senior secured revolving credit facility from Bank of America, intended to refinance existing aircraft debt and fund aircraft acquisitions, including 17 Phenom 300/300E jets from GrandView Aviation for $105 million.
• In December 2025, Wheels Up executed a $105 million sale-and-leaseback transaction for 10 business jets, using approximately $65 million of the proceeds to repay debt and the remaining $40 million to strengthen its balance sheet for further aircraft acquisitions planned for 2026.