Wheels Up trimmed EBITDA and EBITDAR losses although net loss increased as on-time performance and completion percentage improved.
The second-quarter results for 2026 showed Wheels Up ahead of schedule on many of its strategic initiatives, including improving operational reliability, on-time performance, fleet renewal, and cost-cutting.
However, the Delta Air Lines-backed private jet company’s path to profitability was slowed by higher costs and slower sales attributed to its ongoing transition.
GAAP revenue dropped 4% year-over-year to $182.0 million.
Net Loss was $107.2 million, Adjusted EBITDA loss was $26.2 million, and Adjusted EBITDAR loss was $19.9 million, although the latter two metrics showed year-over-year improvement.
(A chart tracking the last six quarters of Wheels Up’s financials is below.)
On the bright side, the quarter saw the number of its Signature and Custom Enterprise Solutions members grow to over 1,200, representing over 50% of programmatic members.
Signature was launched last September, although Wheels Up continued selling its legacy membership until the end of March.
Completion Rate for the quarter was 99.4%, up nearly two points year over year.
On-Time Performance, defined as arriving within 30 minutes of the scheduled time, was 86.8%, up by more than six points year over year.
Through the end of July 2026, there were 119 Brand Days, dates with no cancellations, more than all of last year.
Brand Days in the most recent quarter surged to 57 from 14 in 2025.
Wheels Up is the only leading private jet operator to report on-time performance and completion rate.
However, replacing its aging private jets and King Air 350 turboprop fleet 18 months ahead of plan impacted the bottom line, according to the company.
Currently, the new fleet features 28 Embraer light jets and 10 Bombardier super-midsize aircraft, according to the latest FAA Part 135 report.
Gogo’s next-generation Galileo HDX high-speed Wi-Fi has already been installed across the fleet, CEO George Mattson tells Private Jet Card Comparisons.
“I know other folks are talking about having (upgraded Wi-Fi) done in the next year and a half or so, but we’re done. Every Wheels Up plane you get on now has satellite Wi-Fi,” Mattson said.
The move to premium aircraft and connectivity is part of its integration strategy with Delta Air Lines, aimed at attracting more business travelers.
To that end, corporate sales were up 8% in the quarter.
“Transitory inefficiencies from the sales force transformation” dented the top line, however.
The lost sales opportunities stem from the reorganization of its sales and support groups following the merger of the Air Partner and Wheels Up teams.
Mattson said, “Wheels Up made meaningful progress this quarter, completing our fleet modernization, reaching record levels of operational reliability, strengthening our Delta partnership, and building momentum with our Signature Membership.”
He added, “The entire Wheels Up team is focused on delivering a great experience for our customers while also making the business more efficient, scalable, and profitable.”
Mattson noted, “With the legacy fleet transition behind us and technology investments like BrokerOS expected to drive growth in our charter business, we enter the second half of the year with increasing confidence in our ability to execute against our plan and create long-term value for shareholders.”
In a separate letter to investors, Mattson wrote:
‘Over the past two years, we have fundamentally reshaped Wheels Up as we create a strong, durable foundation for responsible growth. We have streamlined and upgraded our fleet, improved operational reliability, unified our global sales and service teams, and implemented efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives across our business. As we move through the remainder of the year, we are focused on realizing the benefits of these actions while continuing to scale our premium fleet of Phenom and Challenger aircraft, investing in the customer experience, growing our charter business as we leverage AI-based technology, deepening our Delta partnership, and maintaining cost discipline as we work toward our goal of sustained profitability and cash generation.’
The CEO added, “Since announcing our fleet modernization in late 2024, we have invested over $300 million in our premium fleet and modifications.”
In October 2024, management revealed plans to streamline its fleet.
READ: What Delta’s Q2 filings say about Wheels Up
Second quarter GAAP revenues for 2026 were $182.0 million, down 4.0% year-over-year.
The $7 million drop matched revenues lost from last year’s sale of non-core services businesses.
Q1 GAAP revenues were $168.9 million. (A chart tracking the last six quarters of Wheels Up’s financials is below.)
Gross Profit increased 336% from $2.2 million to $9.6 million year-over-year.
The improvement in Gross Profit was despite $5 million of expenses related to the fleet transformation.
Adjusted Contribution was down slightly from $23.1 million to $22.5 million.
Adjusted Contribution margin improved from 12.2% in Q2 2025 to 12.4% in the most recent quarter.
The $26.2 Adjusted EBITDA loss in Q2 2026 was down 16% to $26.2 million.
Adjusted EBITDAR loss in the quarter improved 27% to negative $19.9 million from a negative $27.3 million year-over-year.
Quarterly Net Loss increased to $107.2 million, a 30% increase from $82.3 million, year-over-year.
Total Gross Bookings, which include the total value of off-fleet charter flights, were down 8% year-over-year to $241.8 million.
| (in millions) | Q1-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q4-2025 | Q1-2026 | Q2-2026 |
| TTL Gross Bookings $ | 241.9 | 261.9 | 266.6 | 269.0 | 267.2 | 241.8 |
| Fund Sales $ | 133.0 | 127.0 | 127.0 | 188.0 | 91.8 | TK |
| GAAP Revenue $ | 177.5 | 189.6 | 185.4 | 183.8 | 168.9 | 182.0 |
| Gross profit (Loss) $ | (1.1) | 2.2 | (1.3) | 12.8 | (1.9) | 9.6 |
| Adjusted Contribution $ | 22.4 | 23.7 | 23.5 | 35.0 | 14.8 | 22.5 |
| Adjusted Contribution Margin | 12.6% | 12.2% | 12.7% | 19.1% | 8.7% | 12.4% |
| Net Loss $ | (99.3) | (82.3) | (83.7) | (28.9) | (82.9) | (107.2) |
| Adjusted EBITDA $ | (24.2) | (31.2) | (23.2) | 32.9 | (28.1) | (26.1) |
| Adjusted EBITDAR $ | (18.8) | (27.2) | (19.7) | 36.9 | (18.3) | (19.9) |
Source: Wheels Up
First half 2026 Gross Bookings increased from $503.9 million to $509.0 million.
GAAP Revenue dropped from $367.2 million to $350.9 million in the first six months of this year compared to 2025.
Gross Profits increased from $1.1 million to $7.6 million over the same period.
However, Adjusted Contribution dropped to $37.3 million from $45.5 million.
| (in millions) | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | H1 2025 | H1 2026 |
| Total Gross Bookings $ | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1,043.8 | 1,039.5 | 503.9 | 509.0 |
| Fund Sales $ | NA | NA | 530.0 | 897.0 | 1,005.0 | 482.0 | 596.0 | 575.0 | 260.0 | TK |
| GAAP Revenue $ | 332.0 | 385.0 | 695.0 | 1,194.3 | 1,579.8 | 1,253.3 | 792.1 | 736.5 | 367.2 | 350.9 |
| Gross Profit (Loss) $ | 14.0 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 22.4 | (26.5) | (37.7) | 2.5 | 12.6 | 1.1 | 7.6 |
| Adjusted Contribution $ | 49.0 | 44.0 | 62.4 | 82.2 | 57.9 | 62.5 | 85.7 | 104.1 | 45.5 | 37.3 |
| Adjusted Contribution Margin % | 14.7% | 11.5% | 9.0% | 6.9% | 3.7% | 5.0% | 10.8% | 14.1% | 12.4% | 10.6% |
| Net Loss $ | (83.0) | (107.0) | (85.4) | (197.2) | (555.5) | (487.4) | (339.6) | (294.2) | (181.6) | (190.2) |
| Adjusted EBITDA $ | (14.0) | (21.0) | (52.4) | (87.4) | (185.3) | (145.9) | (117.9) | (43.5) | (61.9) | (56.7) |
| Adjusted EBITDAR $ | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | (26.6) | (52.5) | (40.7) |
Source: Wheels Up
Net Loss increased from $181.6 million to $190.2 million.
Adjusted EBITDA loss was trimmed from $61.9 million to $56.7 million.
Adjusted EBITDAR also improved to a loss of $40.7 million from $52.5 million.
The Russell Indexes added Wheels Up to the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes.
It closed on a $100 million term loan backed by Delta. The Atlanta-based airline owns 36% of Wheels Up.
Delta also extended its $100m revolving credit facility commitment through September 2028.
The private jet company marked 101 days without cancellations. That exceeded full-year 2025 performance.
Completion Rate for the quarter was 99.4%, up nearly two points.
On-Time Performance (arrival within 30 minutes of the plan) was 86.8%, up by more than six points.
Both marks were the highest since reporting began in 2023.
Wheels Up also announced plans to migrate to Surf Air’s BrokerOS charter-sourcing platform.
It consolidated branding, retiring the Air Partner brand except for cargo charters. Wheels Up acquired Air Partner in April 2022 for $107 million.
A key highlight was that it completed its fleet transition to the Phenom 300 and Challenger 300 18 months ahead of schedule.
The Embraer and Bombardier aircraft are part of its strategy to attract more business flyers via Delta Air Lines corporate accounts.
The company also withdrew the King Air fleet in April.
Signature members increased 100% year-to-date.
READ: A Brief History of Airlines and Private Jet Companies
With NetJets pulling back from the jet card market and focusing on fractional ownership, Mattson sees opportunities.
“Increasingly, customers want premium access without the significant upfront investment, asset value risk, high fixed costs, long-term commitments, and complexity associated with whole or fractional ownership of a single aircraft type,” he says.
Mattson said to expect more integration with Delta.
He says, “The idea is that if you go on the Delta app or the Wheels Up app, you get choices across the other ecosystem.”
“Work is being done on those concepts that were part of the original vision (and they are) coming to life,” Mattson says, although there is no timeline.
Mattson also didn’t rule out enabling Wheels Up members to earn SkyMiles on their flights, something TLC Jet launched with American Airlines earlier this year.
In April, JAL Business Aviation added points-earning in the Japan Airlines Mileage Bank loyalty program as a benefit for private jet charter customers.
Qatar Executive gives flyers four Avios in its Privilege Club frequent flyer program for every dollar spent on charter flights.
Flyers with JSX, which operates public charters using private jet terminals, earn United Airlines miles.
Currently, Wheels Up members can use funds to book Delta flights and gain SkyMiles status, including the invitation-only 360 program.
“We’ve got something that appears to be resonating in the market, specifically with those customers,” Mattson says, adding, “The way we look at it, we’re not sure (earning miles is) going to drive a significant amount of customer behavior among private aviation customers.”
Mattson is also bullish on expanding his off-fleet charter business through the new alliance with Surf Air and its Palantir-backed charter-sourcing platform.
The CEO says:
‘We are now enabling our team with this software platform to do something that will really change, very positively change our ability to drive growth in our charter business, and to drive higher conversion rates and better service in our charter business for our customers, which is already very high.’
Mattson expects SurfOS will increase “our ability to respond much more quickly to charter requests,” adding, “And as you know, speed of response is very much linked to conversion rates.”
Mattson says Wheels Up will add up to 15 more Phenom and Challenger aircraft to its fleet before the end of the year.
Mattson, in his letter to shareholders, wrote, “Fleet modernization has helped us achieve a 20% improvement in overall utility for the second quarter versus the prior year, underscoring the impact of higher maintenance reliability on our new premium fleets to generate improved margin performance and a higher return on assets.”
He added, “Utility on these fleets has been pressured by our intentional decision to temporarily remove aircraft from service on a rolling basis to accelerate paint, interior, and satellite Wi-Fi investments to deliver a consistent customer experience.”
He predicted, “As these aircraft are brought back into revenue service and we continue to scale with additional aircraft acquisitions, we expect utility to further improve, pushing toward a long-term annual run-rate goal of 70 hours and helping to achieve our Adjusted Contribution Margin long-term target of 30%+.”
Wheels Up said, it “continues to implement initiatives expected to deliver approximately $70 million or more in annual cash cost savings through operational efficiencies, productivity improvements, and overhead reductions.”
The company expects the cuts it announced last year to improve financial results in the second half of the year.
The company “substantially” completed the initiatives in the second quarter of 2026 and expects to realize the benefits by the end of 2026.
Additional data from its 10-Q will be added as soon as the report is available.
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