Wheels Up Refreshes Jet Fleet With $332 Million Credit Facility

Wheels Up is modernizing its jet fleet through a plan to consolidate the number of different aircraft types it operates to primarily two models: the Embraer Phenom 300 and Bombardier Challenger 300/350. The private flight provider also announced on Tuesday that it has lined up a $332 million credit facility from Bank of America, backed by the operator's main shareholder, Delta Air Lines.

During a briefing at NBAA-BACE 2024, Wheels Up CEO George Mattson told reporters the company has agreed to acquire GrandView Aviation’s entire fleet of 17 Phenom 300s and 300Es. The $105 million purchase price includes some related maintenance assets from the U.S. charter operator.

While the transaction is closing, GrandView, part of the Global Medical Response group, will operate the Phenoms on Wheels Up’s behalf for its membership and charter products. The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of the year, at which point the aircraft will be switched to Wheels Up’s air operator certificate. Wheels Up said it expects to employ most of GrandView’s pilots and also aims to fulfill service agreements with the company’s existing customers.

At the same time, Wheels Up is now looking to acquire a fleet of preowned Challenger 300s and 350s through the secondary market. The transactions for the super midsized jets will be a mix of outright purchases and long-term leases.

As part of the transition plan, Wheels Up will sell all 13 of its Citation X aircraft to an undisclosed third party. The Atlanta-based company intends to lease back some of these jets from the new owner and will amend existing lease terms for other Citation X aircraft currently leased from the same buyer.

Over the next three years, and subject to market conditions, Wheels Up said it will gradually retire its fleet of light and midsized jets while retaining its Beechcraft King Air twin turboprops—the model that launched and served as the foundation for Wheels Up's operations—for some customers. Once the fleet transition is complete, the operator said it will have reduced the average age of its aircraft by around 10 years.

The first Challenger 300s are set to be introduced to the Wheels Up fleet at the start of next year, and these will be available initially to both charter customers and program members on some routes. By the end of 2025, Wheels Up expects to be able to offer the type across all of its guaranteed service areas.

“Fleet modernization is the next critical step in the journey of Wheels Up,” said Mattson. “We believe our flexible, accessible offerings across programmatic membership and global charter, enhanced through our one-of-a-kind strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines, already delivers the most customer-centric global aviation solutions available in the market today.”

Speaking to reporters at NBAA-BACE, Mattson explained how his journey from the board of Delta Air Lines to the top of Wheels Up reflects his company's core mission: to connect private flyers to aircraft and one another and to deliver exceptional personalized flying experiences. 

“I stepped off the Delta board to create the first strategic partnership in history to combine the separate ecosystems of commercial and private aviation into one seamless, flexible, and accessible offer that allows the customer to choose their optimal mode of travel trip by trip, whether it be commercial, private, or a hybrid,” he said.

Better Connectivity, More Cash

Wheels Up has also signed a letter of intent with Gogo Business Aviation to equip its new Phenoms and Challengers with Gogo Galileo HDX low-earth-orbit, satellite-based Wi-Fi service. Under the terms of the agreement, Gogo has committed to complete certification of the system and have the HDX packages approved for use on Challenger and Phenom aircraft by the middle of 2025 as these types enter Wheels Up’s fleet.

The five-year senior secured revolving credit facility is expected to be available in time for the GrandView fleet acquisition to close this quarter. It will also fund the redemption of all outstanding notes on aircraft the company owns and general corporate activity.

The new funding is expected to provide up to $115 million of additional cash for the Wheels Up balance sheet. Additional borrowing will be available under specified conditions to support the plan to opportunistically acquire Challengers and Phenoms.

“In the year since we’ve invested in Wheels Up, their operational performance, financial progress, and the successful revamp of their customer offering have validated our decision to embark on this one-of-a-kind partnership,” said Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

“Underpinned by those key improvements and further fueled by the forthcoming execution of this modernized fleet strategy, we feel more confident than ever that Wheels Up is on track to be a global leader in private aviation as we work together to build an unrivaled partnership spanning across commercial and private travel.”