Wheels Up Third-Quarter Revenue Falls 11% to $164.8 Million

The Tip Desk · November 5, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter 2026 Private Jet Flight revenue was $143.9 million as premium Phenom and Challenger fleet revenue rose 120% and Adjusted Contribution Margin reached 16.4%.

Wheels Up Experience Inc. (UP) reported third-quarter 2026 GAAP revenue of $164.8 million, down 11% from a year earlier. Signature fleets delivered the majority of its private jet flight revenue, marking an inflection in the company’s shift from legacy aircraft to a premium Phenom and Challenger fleet.

GAAP revenue was $164.8 million, down 11% from a year earlier, a steeper decline than the 4% year-over-year drop to $182.0 million in the second quarter. About 3% of the year-over-year revenue reduction was attributable to the disposition of non-core services businesses in the third quarter of 2025.

Private Jet Flight revenue of $143.9 million declined 7% after being flat in the second quarter. Premium Phenom and Challenger fleet revenue increased 120%, outpacing 79% growth in those fleet types as the controlled fleet expanded from 24 to 43 aircraft year-over-year. Legacy fleet revenue declined 44% as the company winds down legacy programs.

Chief Executive Officer George Mattson said Signature revenue and memberships surpassed legacy revenue and memberships for the first time. The company reported more than 1,500 Signature members and Custom Enterprise Solutions accounts modeled after Signature Membership, a 130% increase year to date through September. Its second-quarter release had reported more than 1,200 members. Legacy memberships declined 62% following the April wind-down announcement.

Total Gross Bookings were $225.4 million, down 15% year-over-year, a larger decline than the 8% year-over-year drop to $241.8 million in the second quarter. The company said the decrease primarily reflected lower group charter, cargo and on-demand charter volume. Live Flight Legs fell 33% year-over-year to 7,774. Private Jet Gross Bookings per Live Flight Leg rose 27% to $22,943.

Gross profit was $15.2 million, an improvement of $16 million versus the year-ago period, after a $7 million year-over-year improvement to $9.6 million in the second quarter. Results were impacted by approximately $3 million of business transformation-related expenses. Adjusted Contribution was $27.0 million, a 15% improvement from the prior-year period, reversing a 2% year-over-year decline to $22.5 million in the second quarter. Adjusted Contribution Margin expanded to 16.4% from 12.7% a year earlier. The company estimated approximately 3 points of year-over-year margin pressure came from the prior-year sale of non-core services businesses and transitory inefficiencies from the ongoing business transformation.

Adjusted EBITDAR loss narrowed 44% year-over-year to $13.2 million, a faster improvement than the 27% year-over-year narrowing to a $19.9 million loss in the second quarter. The company said the improvement was primarily driven by a more streamlined fleet of Phenoms and Challengers that produced a 31% increase in Utility, and by efficiency, productivity and cost-reduction initiatives. Utility rose 31% year-over-year to 56.3, accelerating from a 20% year-over-year increase in the second quarter.

Net loss was $89.4 million, or $(2.48) a share, after a $107 million, or $(2.97) a share, loss in the second quarter. Interest expense was $39.1 million.

Completion Rate was 99.3%, up about 1 point year-over-year, and On-Time Performance (A-30) was 86.4%, up nearly 4 points year-over-year. Through the end of September, the company had recorded 163 Brand Days, or days with a perfect Completion Rate and no operational cancellations.

Wheels Up ordered six factory-new Embraer Phenom 300E aircraft, expected to be delivered in the third and fourth quarters of 2027, and said Delta Air Lines committed an additional $100 million revolving credit facility. Mattson said the company is focused on completing the full sunset of legacy membership programs, scaling the Signature Membership, and deepening the Delta partnership.