UP Wheels Up Experience Inc

Strong operational performance and increased efficiencies contribute to sequential margin and profitability improvement 

ATLANTA, Aug. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheels Up Experience Inc. (NYSE: UP) today announced financial results for the second quarter, which ended June 30, 2024.

Second Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Revenue decreased to $196 million, driven by the divestiture of non-core assets and our focus on more profitable flying
• Adjusted Contribution Margin increased year over year to 7.8%
• Net loss improved year-over-year to $97 million
• Adjusted EBITDA improved year-over-year to a loss of $37 million

"Over the past year, we've taken vital steps towards realizing our vision of building Wheels Up into a true innovator in private aviation. Our work this quarter further solidified our position at the forefront of delivering integrated global aviation solutions that seamlessly combine the previously separate ecosystems of private and commercial travel," said George Mattson, Chief Executive Officer. "We made great strides towards the structural changes that are necessary to build a sustainable business model. We continued to invest in operations to ensure we have a high-performing, reliable product. We enhanced our product portfolio to offer unparalleled value across our programmatic member and global charter offerings alike, and we continued to build on the one-of-a-kind strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines."

"The initiatives we have taken over the past year to strengthen our business are now contributing to sequential improvement in our financial results," said Todd Smith, Chief Financial Officer. "During the quarter, we have reduced underutilized maintenance facilities and removed significant structural costs from our operations. Today, we are operating much more efficiently and are in a strong position to scale our business as we take advantage of our enhanced commercial product offerings."

Recent Initiatives

• Strengthened product portfolio provides global access through membership and charter options that emphasize accessibility, flexibility and value. With Wheels Up Charter, travelers can fly anywhere in the world with no upfront cost. Alternatively, Wheels Up Membership offers guaranteed availability and recovery in the continental U.S., U.K. and Europe with dynamic rates and price protection.
• Introduced further pricing, savings and rewards transparency to drive value and increase flexibility for travelers via upgrades to pricing platform and website and mobile app experiences. Booking upgrades make it easier to explore dynamic rates across dates, departure and arrival destinations.
• Established deeper commercial integration with Delta Air Lines to provide enhanced value for Wheels Up's customers and members, including the ability to earn Delta Medallion® status.
• Completed the transition of our King Air 350i and Citation Excel/XLS fleets to a single FAA operating certificate, which already includes our Hawker 400XP aircraft. This is resulting in significant operational efficiencies across maintenance, training and scheduling. Transition of our Citation X aircraft to the same operating certificate is in process.

For the second quarter:

• Active Members decreased 29% year-over-year to 8,268, primarily as a result of the regionalization of our member programs and focus on profitable flying.
• Active Users decreased 20% year-over-year to 9,999, primarily related to the decline in Active Members.
• Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value per Live Flight Leg increased 15% year-over-year, primarily due a higher mix of flying with larger cabin aircraft.
• Revenue decreased 41% year-over-year, primarily driven by exiting the aircraft management and aircraft sale businesses, as well as reduced Flight revenue, primarily due to our focus on more profitable flying.
• Net loss improved by $63.6 million year-over-year to $97.0 million, as the second quarter of 2023 included a $70 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge with no equivalent charge in the second quarter of 2024.
• Adjusted EBITDA loss improved by $2.9 million year-over-year to $37.4 million, reflecting our operational efficiency and other spend reduction efforts.

About Wheels Up

Wheels Up is a leading provider of on-demand private aviation in the U.S. and one of the largest companies in the industry. Wheels Up offers a complete global aviation solution with a large and diverse fleet and a global network of safety vetted charter operators, all backed by an uncompromising commitment to safety and service. Customers can access charter and membership programs, as well as unique commercial travel benefits through a one-of-a-kind, strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines. Wheels Up also offers freight, safety and security solutions and managed services to individuals, industry, government and civil organizations. 

Wheels Up is guided by the mission to deliver a premium solution for every customer journey. With the Wheels Up mobile app and website, members and customers have the digital convenience to search, book and fly.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside of the control of Wheels Up Experience Inc. ("Wheels Up", or "we", "us", or "our"), that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding:  (i) the impact of Wheels Up's cost reduction efforts and measures intended to increase Wheels Up's operational efficiency on its business and results of operations, including the timing and magnitude of such expected actions and any associated expenses in relation to liquidity levels and working capital needs; (ii) the degree of market acceptance and adoption of Wheels Up's products and services, including the changes to our member programs and charter offerings announced in June 2024 and any additional new or revised products introduced by Wheels Up; (iii) the size, demands, competition in and growth potential of the markets for Wheels Up's products and services and Wheels Up's ability to serve and compete in those markets; (iv) Wheels Up's liquidity, future cash flows and certain restrictions related to its debt obligations; (v) Wheels Up's ability to achieve positive Adjusted EBITDA (as defined herein) pursuant to the schedule that it has announced; (vi) Wheels Up's ability to perform under its contractual and indebtedness obligations; (vii) the expected impact or benefits of any potential strategic actions involving Wheels Up or its subsidiaries or affiliates, including asset sales, acquisitions, new debt or equity financings, or refinancings of existing indebtedness; and (viii) the impacts of general economic and geopolitical conditions on Wheels Up's business and the aviation industry, including due to fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, foreign currencies, consumer and business spending decisions, and general levels of economic activity. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "strive," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that statement is not forward-looking. We have identified certain known material risk factors applicable to Wheels Up in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and our other filings with the SEC. Moreover, it is not always possible for us to predict how new risks and uncertainties that arise from time to time may affect us. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Contribution, Adjusted Contribution Margin, Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value and Total Flight Transaction Value. These non-GAAP financial measures are an addition, and not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP") and should not be considered as an alternative to revenue or any component thereof, net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP counterparts are included in the sections titled "Definitions of key metrics and non-GAAP financial measures" and "Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures," respectively, in this press release. Wheels Up believes that these non-GAAP financial measures of financial results provide useful supplemental information to investors about Wheels Up. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures and their nearest GAAP equivalents, including that they exclude significant expenses that are required by GAAP to be recorded in Wheels Up's financial measures or represent a transaction value that Wheels Up does not book as revenue. In addition, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore, Wheels Up's non-GAAP financial measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Additionally, to the extent that forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures are provided, they are presented on a non-GAAP basis without reconciliations of such forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliations.

For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, see the sections titled "Definitions of Key Operating Metrics," "Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" included in this press release.

Contacts

Investors: 
ir@wheelsup.com

Media: 
press@wheelsup.com

Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as Net income (loss) adjusted for (i) Interest income (expense), (ii) Income tax expense, (iii) Depreciation and amortization, (iv) equity-based compensation expense, (v) acquisition and integration related expenses and (vi) other items not indicative of our ongoing operating performance, including but not limited to, restructuring charges.

We include Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure for assessing operating performance and for the following:  to be used in conjunction with bonus program target achievement determinations, strategic internal planning, annual budgeting, allocating resources and making operating decisions; and to provide useful information for historical period-to-period comparisons of our business, as it removes the effect of certain non-cash expenses and other items not indicative of our ongoing operating performance.

Adjusted Contribution and Adjusted Contribution Margin. We calculate Adjusted Contribution as gross profit (loss) excluding Depreciation and amortization and adjusted further for equity-based compensation included in Cost of revenue and other items included in Cost of revenue that are not indicative of our ongoing operating performance. Adjusted Contribution Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted Contribution by total revenue.

We include Adjusted Contribution and Adjusted Contribution Margin as supplemental measures for assessing operating performance and for the following:  to be used to understand our ability to achieve profitability over time through scale and leveraging costs; and to provide useful information for historical period-to-period comparisons of our business and to identify trends.

Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value and Total Flight Transaction Value. We calculate Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value as the sum of total gross spend by members and customers on all private jet flight services, which excludes all group charter flights with 15 or more passengers and cargo flight services. Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value reflects the Flight revenue recognized from Programmatic Flights (as defined below) and private charter flights by members and customers. "Programmatic Flights" are all flights that were flown subject to a Wheels Up Member Flight Service Agreement, Custom Corporate Agreement or other similar agreement (excluding jet cards) that provides for guaranteed aircraft availability, shorter call-out periods, capped or fixed rate pricing, and other benefits.

We calculate Total Flight Transaction Value as Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value, plus Other Charter FTV (as defined below).

We include Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value and Total Flight Transaction Value as supplemental measures for assessing the size of the markets which we serve.

Definitions of Key Operating Metrics

Active Members. We define Active Members as the number of membership accounts that generated membership revenue in the applicable period and are active as of the end of the reporting period. We use Active Members to assess the adoption of our premium offerings which is a key factor in our penetration of the market in which we operate and a key driver of membership and flight revenue.

Active Users. We define Active Users as Active Members as of the reporting date plus unique non-member customers who completed a revenue generating flight at least once in the applicable period and excluding wholesale flight activity. While a unique customer can complete multiple revenue generating flights on our platform in a given period, that unique customer is counted as only one Active User. We use Active Users to assess the adoption of our platform and frequency of transactions, which are key factors in our penetration of the markets in which we operate and our ability to generate revenue.

On-Time Performance (D-60). We define On-Time Performance (D-60) as the percentage of total flights flown that departed within 60 minutes of the scheduled time, inclusive of air traffic control, weather, maintenance and customer delays. On-Time Performance (D-60) excludes all cancelled flights and wholesale flight activity.

Completion Rate. We define Completion Rate as the percentage of total scheduled flights operated and completed. Completion Rate excludes customer-initiated flight cancellations and wholesale flight activity.

Live Flight Legs. We define Live Flight Legs as the number of completed one-way revenue generating private jet flight legs in the applicable period, excluding empty repositioning legs and owner legs related to aircraft under management. We believe Live Flight Legs is a useful metric to measure the scale and usage of our platform, and our ability to generate flight revenue.

Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value per Live Flight Leg. We use Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value per Live Flight Leg to measure the average gross spend by members and customers for each Live Flight Leg. See "Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" above for more information regarding our use and definition of Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value.

Private Jet Charter FTV. We define Private Jet Charter FTV as the sum of total gross spend by members and customers on all private charter flights that are at market-based rates and are not Programmatic Flights. Private Jet Charter FTV excludes customer gross spend attributable to all group charter flights with 15 or more passengers and cargo flight services. We use Private Jet Charter FTV to measure the size of our private jet charter business relative to the overall industry. See "Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" above for more information about the use of Private Jet Charter FTV in the calculation of Total Private Jet Flight Transaction Value and Total Flight Transaction Value.

Other Charter FTV. We define Other Charter FTV as the sum of total gross spend by customers on all group charter flights with 15 or more passengers and cargo flight services. We use Other Charter FTV to measure the size of our group charter and cargo charter businesses relative to the overall industry. See "Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" above for more information about the use of Other Charter FTV in the calculation of Total Flight Transaction Value.

Total Charter FTV. We define Total Charter FTV as the sum of Private Jet Charter FTV and Other Charter FTV. We use Total Charter FTV to measure the size of our total charter business relative to the overall industry.

Refer to "Supplemental Expense Information" below, for further information.

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SOURCE Wheels Up