Wheels Up (WUP, Teterboro) has folded the Part 135 certificate of Mountain Aviation into Wheels Up Partners and that of GrandView Aviation into Wheels Up Private Jets, according to the company's latest filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Wheels Up has also acquired a first Challenger 300 and leased two additional units as part of a fleet modernisation strategy announced in late 2024, with all three expected to enter service in April 2025.
Following the acquisition of GrandView Aviation and the initial transfer of Phenom 300 and Phenom 300E jets, Wheels Up has now removed all aircraft from that operator's Part 135 certificate. While some Embraer Executive Jets are already operating under Wheels Up Private Jets' 'WUP' code, others have to first undergo interior and exterior refurbishment, including a new livery and cabin.
Meanwhile, the consolidation of Mountain Aviation's certificate into Wheels Up Partners, Wheels Up's second in-house Part 135 certificate, was completed in December 2024. The process began with the transfer of Citation X jets, followed by Citation Jet 3, Citation Jet 3+, and GIV-SP aircraft.
Wheels Up now operates under two Part 135 certificates. Wheels Up Private Jets, which provides private aircraft charter services alongside fixed-base operations (FBO) and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, and Wheels Up Partners, which also operates charter flights and is the registered owner of Wheels Up’s owned aircraft fleet. According to the filing, this structure aims to streamline flight operations and standardise procedures.
Wheels Up Partners' charter fleet includes six Citation Jet 3s, a Citation Jet 3+, and two GIV-SPs. Meanwhile, Wheels Up Private Jets' certificate currently includes eight Citation Excel, seven Citation XLS, twenty-four Citation X, eleven Phenom 300s, four Phenom 300Es, twenty-one Hawker 400XPs, and a Hawker 400XT. Seventeen Phenom 300-series jets are set to transfer from GrandView Aviation, with Wheels Up also adding further aircraft of the type from other sources to replace the Citation Excel, Citation Jet, and Hawker 400 fleets.
The company has also acquired its first Challenger 300, N944UP (msn 20451), an 11-year-old aircraft registered on March 5. Previously operated by Canada's Chartright Air, which continues to manage eleven Challenger 300-series jets, including seven Challenger 300s, two Challenger 350s, and a Challenger 3500, it is currently parked at Wichita Eisenhower. It is expected to enter service in April 2025 alongside two leased Challenger 300s. These jets, intended to replace Wheels Up's Citation X fleet, will also undergo refurbishment.
Wheels Up reported full-year revenues of USD792.1 million, a net loss of USD339.6 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of negative USD117.9 million for 2024.
