UP Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (UP) — Drillr’s hub for UP insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, UP insiders filed 4 open-market buys and 1 sale (SEC Form 4).
UP insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 2026 | Godsman Davidofficer: Chief Digital Officer | Tax | 593 | $9.85 |
| May 28, 2026 | Briffa Markofficer: Chief Sales Officer | Tax | 646 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Kedzior Brian Josephofficer: Chief People Officer | Tax | 305 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Holtz David Lofficer: Chief Operating Officer | Tax | 135 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Holtz David Lofficer: Chief Operating Officer | Tax | 376 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Godsman Davidofficer: Chief Digital Officer | Tax | 130 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Godsman Davidofficer: Chief Digital Officer | Tax | 362 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Chatkewitz Alexanderofficer: Chief Accounting Officer | Tax | 274 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Briffa Markofficer: Chief Sales Officer | Tax | 257 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Wells Meaghan Danielleofficer: Chief Growth Officer | Tax | 298 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Lauria Kristenofficer: Chief Marketing Officer | Tax | 146 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Lauria Kristenofficer: Chief Marketing Officer | Tax | 383 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Knopf Matthew J.officer: Chief Legal Officer | Tax | 379 | $8.66 |
| May 28, 2026 | Kedzior Brian Josephofficer: Chief People Officer | Tax | 105 | $8.66 |
| May 20, 2026 | Mattson George Ndirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Buy | 1,475 | $5.56 |
Source: UP SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jun 3, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Wheels Up Experience Inc. company profile
Overview
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (NYSE:UP) is a private aviation services company founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York. The company went public in November 2020 through a SPAC merger. Wheels Up operates one of the largest fleets of private aircraft in the United States, serving high-net-worth individuals, corporations, and other clients seeking private air travel solutions. The company has undergone significant operational restructuring in recent years, including a strategic partnership with Delta Airlines and leadership changes aimed at achieving profitability.
Business
Wheels Up operates in the private aviation industry, which serves as an alternative to commercial airline travel for customers seeking flexibility, privacy, and convenience. The private aviation market caters to wealthy individuals, corporations, and organizations that require on-demand air transportation or prefer to avoid the constraints of commercial airline schedules. The company's core offerings include Wheels Up Charter and Wheels Up Membership programs. The charter service allows customers to book private flights on an as-needed basis across various aircraft categories, from light jets to large cabin aircraft. The membership program provides subscribers with guaranteed access to aircraft through prepaid flight blocks and hourly rates, similar to a country club model for aviation. Wheels Up operates a fleet of approximately 1,500 aircraft, though many of these are managed aircraft owned by third parties rather than company-owned planes. The company provides aircraft management services for aircraft owners, handling maintenance, crew scheduling, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, Wheels Up offers whole aircraft sales and acquisitions, corporate flight solutions for businesses, and specialized missions such as cargo transport or medical flights. The company's revenue streams can be broadly categorized into flight services (approximately 85-90% of revenue), aircraft management services, and other ancillary services including aircraft sales. Flight services encompass both membership-driven flights and on-demand charter bookings, with charter flights representing an increasingly important portion of the business mix.
Revenue model
Wheels Up generates revenue through multiple channels within the private aviation ecosystem. The primary revenue source is flight services, where customers pay for private jet flights either through membership programs or direct charter bookings. Members purchase prepaid flight blocks at discounted hourly rates, while charter customers pay market rates for individual flights. The company also earns revenue from aircraft management services, charging monthly fees to aircraft owners for maintenance, crew, and operational management. The business model faces several margin pressures and opportunities. Fuel costs represent a significant variable expense that directly impacts profitability, as jet fuel prices fluctuate with oil markets. Fleet utilization rates are critical to margin expansion - higher aircraft usage spreads fixed costs across more flight hours. The company's shift toward more profitable charter flights, which typically command higher margins than membership flights, has been a key strategic initiative. Operational efficiency improvements, including fleet modernization and certificate consolidation, are expected to reduce maintenance costs and improve aircraft availability. The company is transitioning to a more standardized fleet focused on Embraer Phenom 300 and Bombardier Challenger 300 series aircraft to achieve better economies of scale. Macroeconomic factors significantly influence demand, as private aviation is a luxury service sensitive to wealth effects and corporate spending patterns. Competition from other private aviation providers, fractional ownership companies like NetJets, and aircraft charter brokers creates pricing pressure in the market.
Competitive moat
Wheels Up's competitive moat is relatively narrow in the fragmented private aviation industry. The company's primary advantages include its large fleet size and geographic coverage, which provides scheduling flexibility and availability that smaller operators cannot match. The strategic partnership with Delta Airlines offers some differentiation, allowing integration with commercial travel and access to Delta's corporate customer base and SkyMiles program. However, the private aviation industry has low barriers to entry for charter operations, and customers can easily switch between providers based on price and availability. The company's membership model creates some customer stickiness through prepaid blocks, but these relationships are not contractually binding long-term. Brand recognition in the private aviation space provides modest advantages, but operational excellence and pricing remain the primary competitive factors. The industry faces potential disruption from emerging technologies such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for short-distance flights, though this remains years away from commercial viability. More immediate competitive threats come from well-capitalized competitors like NetJets (owned by Berkshire Hathaway) and regional charter operators who may offer more competitive pricing or superior service levels. The company's operational improvements and fleet standardization efforts represent attempts to build a more sustainable competitive position, but the fundamental commodity-like nature of private aviation services limits the strength of any sustainable moat.
Risks & safety
The company presents significant financial risks with limited margin of safety: • Cash burn and solvency: Negative free cash flow of $63 million in Q1 2025, with $172 million in cash against $925 million in current liabilities, creating a concerning liquidity position • Debt burden: Debt-to-equity ratio of 10.3x as of Q1 2025, indicating extremely high leverage and financial distress • Profitability: Persistent negative EBITDA of $99 million in Q1 2025, though showing improvement from prior periods • Current ratio: 0.32x indicates inability to meet short-term obligations with current assets • Valuation: Negative EV/EBITDA due to losses makes traditional valuation metrics meaningless • Going concern: The combination of high debt, negative cash flow, and poor working capital position raises questions about the company's ability to continue operations without additional financing or dramatic operational improvements
Recent development
Wheels Up has undergone significant strategic transformation over the past two years. The company brought in new leadership with George Mattson as CEO, who has focused on operational excellence and cost reduction. A major development was securing $490 million in committed capital led by Delta Airlines in 2023, along with expanding the strategic partnership to provide integrated travel solutions and access to Delta's corporate customer base. The company has streamlined its product portfolio from multiple complex offerings to two primary services: Wheels Up Charter and Wheels Up Membership. This simplification has improved operational efficiency and customer experience, with completion rates reaching 99% and on-time performance exceeding 85%. A critical strategic initiative is the fleet modernization program, transitioning to standardized aircraft types (Embraer Phenom 300 and Bombardier Challenger 300 series) to reduce maintenance complexity and improve cost efficiency. Operationally, the company consolidated its operations in Atlanta and achieved FAA operating certificate consolidation, reducing regulatory complexity. The business model has shifted toward more profitable charter flights, which now represent over 60% of flight transaction value, up from historical levels. Technology investments in mobile applications, dynamic pricing, and automated scheduling have improved both customer experience and operational efficiency. The company targets achieving positive adjusted EBITDA in 2025, representing a significant milestone in its turnaround efforts.
UP company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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