Wheels Up revenue falls by 44%, aiming for profit by year end

Wheels Up Experience announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 with total revenue declining by 44% year-over-year to $197m, with nearly half of the decline attributable to the strategic exit from the aircraft management and sales businesses.

The decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the exit from the aircraft management and aircraft sales businesses, as well as reduced membership and flight revenue.

Active Members decreased by 25%YoY to 9,155, a result of the regionalisation of member programs and a focus on profitable flying.

This member decline also led to a decrease in active users to 10,218, a 23%YoY drop from 13,336 users in the same period last year.

Live flight legs and total private jet flight transaction value decreased 24% and 26%, respectively to 11,754 and $191,763.

However, the total private jet flight transaction value per live flight leg remained relatively stable, decreasing only 3% year-over-year to $16,315 compared to $16,772 in the same period last year.

At the bottom line, Wheels Up’s net loss improved slightly year-over-year to $97.4m translating into loss per share of $0.14.

Despite the decline in revenue, Wheels Up highlighted strong operational performance, exceeding internal goals with a 98% completion rate and 87% on-time performance (D-60) for flights. The company also announced its plans to open a new flagship maintenance facility at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) and the appointment of David Harvey as chief commercial officer.

“Wheels Up has made great strides to improve our operations and consistently deliver exceptional service and an experience worth repeating for our customers,” said George Mattson, Chief Executive Officer.

“Our strong operational performance provides the foundation for driving to profitable growth. I am pleased with the market interest in the accessibility and flexibility of our offerings, and we are seeing accelerating commercial momentum through our strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines.”

“Despite slower demand in January and February, we saw sequential improvement in March that is following through into the second quarter,” said Todd Smith, Chief Financial Officer.