Resource reallocation to areas of high flight
demand to further drive operating and cost efficiencies
while continuing to elevate the member experience
Wheels Up to partner with top external MRO
providers to support hiring for affected employees in
exited Cincinnati and Broomfield, Colorado facilities
NEW
YORK, April 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheels Up
Experience Inc. (NYSE: UP) today announced a significant step
toward becoming the best-run private aviation company with the
forthcoming opening of a new, state-of-the-art maintenance facility
at Palm Beach International
Airport (PBI). Due to open this year, the facility at PBI
represents a strategic shift in the allocation of the company's
maintenance facilities, with an end goal of better aligning
resources to the company's geographic network and flight demand
density.
"We at Wheels Up are continuously evaluating and acting upon
opportunities that will drive efficiencies and control costs, all
in service of strengthening our business model and improving our
member experience," said Wheels Up CEO George Mattson. "The opening of our new
state-of-the-art maintenance facility at PBI is a key strategic
step, leveraging our resources and locating our facilities in areas
of high flight frequency. As a result of these measures, we
are improving reliability and efficiency while reducing costs as we
continue to drive toward Adjusted EBITDA profitability later this
year."
In preparation for the opening at PBI, resources will be
reallocated from existing, underutilized facilities where there is
reduced organic network flow and flight traffic. The
immediate result will be the closure of existing maintenance
operations in Cincinnati and
Broomfield, CO; the relocation of
mobile service units in Sacramento, Las
Vegas, Salt Lake City and
certain service units in Burbank,
CA to the Eastern U.S.; and the forthcoming relocation of
resources currently stationed in Wheels Up's Fort Lauderdale facility to PBI.
Wheels Up has coordinated with MRO providers FEAM Aero and AVEX
Aviation in Cincinnati and
Broomfield, CO, respectively, to
provide a direct path for placement opportunities for affected
staff.
"The decision to close these facilities is not one that we made
lightly. Our entire maintenance team is responsible for
driving meaningful improvement across key customer experience
indicators, particularly total completion rate and on-time
performance metrics," said Dave
Holtz, Chief Operating Officer at Wheels Up. "Our
people are absolutely crucial to our success, and we are highly
appreciative of the MRO providers we have partnered with to ensure
that we take care of the staff affected by these closures in every
way we possibly can."
The process of closing the facilities in Cincinnati and Broomfield, CO will begin immediately, while
the Fort Lauderdale relocation
will take place following the opening of the new facility in
Palm Beach, FL later this
year.
About Wheels Up
Wheels Up is a leading provider of
on-demand private aviation in the U.S. and one of the largest
companies in the industry. Wheels Up offers a complete global
aviation solution with a large and diverse fleet and a global
network of safety vetted charter operators, all backed by an
uncompromising commitment to safety and service. Customers can
access charter and membership programs, as well as unique
commercial travel benefits through a one-of-a-kind, strategic
partnership with Delta Air Lines. Wheels Up also offers freight,
safety and security solutions and managed services to individuals,
industry, government and civil organizations.
Wheels Up is guided by the mission to deliver a premium solution
for every customer journey. With the Wheels Up mobile app and
website, members and customers have the digital convenience to
search, book and fly.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking
statements are predictions, projections and other statements about
future events that are based on current expectations and
assumptions and, as a result, are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many
of which are outside of the control of Wheels Up Experience Inc.
("Wheels Up", or "we", "us", or "our"), that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the results discussed in the
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: (i) the
impact of Wheels Up's shift in the strategic allocation of its
maintenance facilities on the alignment of Wheels Up's resources to
its geographic network and flight demand density and improvements
in reliability, efficiency and cost reduction; and (ii) Wheels Up's
ability to achieve positive Adjusted EBITDA (as defined herein)
pursuant to the schedule that it has announced. In addition, any
statements that refer to projections, forecasts, or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any
underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words
"anticipate," "believe," continue," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential,"
"predict," "project," "should," "strive," "would" and similar
expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the
absence of these words does not mean that statement is not
forward-looking. We have identified certain known material risk
factors applicable to Wheels Up in our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2023
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and
our other filings with the SEC. Moreover, it is not always possible
for us to predict how new risks and uncertainties that arise from
time to time may affect us. You are cautioned not to place undue
reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date made. Except as required by law, we do not intend to
update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of
this press release.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures,
such as Adjusted EBITDA, which we calculate as net income (loss)
adjusted for (i) interest income (expense), (ii) income tax
expense, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) equity-based
compensation expense, (v) acquisition and integration related
expenses and (vi) other items not indicative of our ongoing
operating performance, including but not limited to, restructuring
charges. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, that we
use in addition to, and not a substitute for or superior to,
measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP") and
should not be considered as an alternative to revenue or any
component thereof, net income (loss), operating income (loss) or
any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP.
Please refer to our filings with the SEC for the calculation of
Adjusted EBITDA and other non-GAAP measures we use from
time-to-time. Wheels Up believes that these non-GAAP
financial measures of financial results provide useful supplemental
information to investors about Wheels Up. However, there are a
number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP
financial measures and their nearest GAAP equivalents, including
that they exclude significant expenses that are required by GAAP to
be recorded in Wheels Up's financial measures or represent a
transaction value that Wheels Up does not book as revenue. In
addition, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures
differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial
performance, and therefore, Wheels Up's non-GAAP financial measures
may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of
other companies. Additionally, to the extent that forward-looking
non-GAAP financial measures are provided, they are presented on a
non-GAAP basis without reconciliations of such forward-looking
non-GAAP financial measures due to the inherent difficulty in
forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for
such reconciliations.
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SOURCE Wheels Up
