Wheels Up announces strategic sale-leaseback transaction for 10 aircraft

On-demand private aviation company Wheels Up announced plans for a sale-leaseback transaction for a portion of its Phenom and Challenger fleets.

Wheels Up said it has entered into an agreement with an institutional capital provider to sell three Challenger 300s and seven Phenom 300s and enter into long-term operating leases for all 10 aircraft.

The sale-leaseback transaction will yield approximately $105m for the company.  Wheels Up plans to use the proceeds from this transaction to pay down existing debt of $65m. The remainder $40m will be used to fund their 2026 expansion plans.

With demand for its new offerings, the company has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 10 additional Challenger and Phenom aircraft, with additional plans to continue to significantly expand those fleets in 2026.

Moreover, Wheels Up said the cash proceeds and incremental borrowing capacity unlocked by the transaction are expected to support its planned 2026 acquisitions of additional Challenger and Phenom aircraft. The transaction is expected to close before year end.

“The actions we are announcing today reflect disciplined, intentional execution of our transformation strategy,” said George Mattson, CEO,  Wheels Up.

“The sale-leaseback agreement further validates our strategy via the partnership of a sophisticated financial institution, balances our mix of owned and leased aircraft, and supports recent and future sustainable growth by providing additional capacity to continue executing our fleet plan in 2026.”

In addition, the company also announced that it equipped its first Phenom 300 with the Gogo Galileo HDX satellite Wi-Fi system, marking the start of a fleet-wide upgrade to next-generation Gogo Galileo connectivity.

“Both corporate and leisure private aviation travelers expect high speed, seamless connectivity wherever they fly,” said George Mattson.