By Jennifer Williams
Wheels Up Experience executives want high-end commercial travelers to see flying private as a realistic alternative. To do it, they are using access to Delta Air Lines passengers.
Three years ago, private jet company Wheels Up was burning cash and fighting to survive. A $500 million rescue from a group of investors led by Delta helped it avert bankruptcy, installing veterans from the commercial airline giant on the board and in the executive ranks. Wheels Up now plans to use that Delta connection to make it easier for the company's well-to-do customers to book a private aircraft.
"To fly private is a premium, so it's not for everyone," said Wheels Up Chief Financial Officer John Verkamp. "But it's more about, for those that are able, letting them know that it's not so far out of reach as maybe it seems on the surface."
The push comes while demand for booking a jet is growing as more people join the ranks of the rich. At the same time, the war with Iran has tightened jet fuel supplies, forcing airlines to trim schedules and pile on fees and potentially making the upgrade to a private flight more appealing, according to industry observers.
Wheels Up executives are looking to appeal to Delta's high-earning customers by working to integrate the two companies' booking processes. Since January, Wheels Up members can search for and book Delta flights directly through Wheels Up. And soon, someone booking a top-tier Delta seat will see an option to skip the terminal for a private cabin.
Travelers booking a lower-fare Delta flight aren't likely to be tempted by private jet-setting. But the air carrier's luxury and corporate clients might be if they're given simplified information about pricing, said Wheels Up Chief Executive George Mattson. A family of five heading to Europe in premium cabins, for instance, could save half a day flying private, due to the time saved avoiding regular security and potential stopovers. Six colleagues visiting a remote factory might bypass three commercial layovers.
"These are the choices we're trying to present to the customer, and in the process, you know, create an idea around accessibility," Mattson said. "It's not this thing that can never make sense."
Wheels Up ran a test last summer on high-end Delta passengers flying to five European cities, including Athens and Rome. Fliers received a prompt after purchase suggesting they consider Wheels Up if their trips continued to other destinations. Executives declined to share how many people booked a noncommercial flight.
Charter rates rarely rival commercial fares, said Doug Gollan, founder of Private Jet Card Comparisons, which provides data and research to private jet customers. More often, the price gap is significant. But private jet companies are targeting businesses and individuals who give priority to time over higher costs, a trade-off made easier by current travel disruptions such as shrinking commercial schedules and long security lines, he said.
"Each time there's an airline strike or a storm and flights are canceled for the next three days ... people who previously didn't fly privately give it a try," Gollan said. "And once they try it, they generally stick with it."
To attract fliers, Wheels Up is additionally upgrading the company's aging fleet of jets and merging its two business segments, membership and charter, to create a more seamless experience for travelers. Membership costs $500 a month, plus extra fees for flights, which are limited to North America. The charter side offers on-demand global routes around the world on a wider selection of aircraft.
Historically, those customers haven't overlapped. Management is changing that, nudging members who want to fly internationally to consider the on-demand option.
Still, Wheels Up faces challenges, one of which is the midweek travel slump that has long affected the private aviation industry. Wheels Up executives expect Delta's corporate clients to help fill seats from Tuesday through Thursday. Already, roughly 40% of sales are through corporate, which was the fastest-growing segment in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to Verkamp.
For 11 consecutive quarters through the end of 2025, Wheels Up's revenue has declined from the year-earlier period and the company has posted losses. But the trajectory has shifted. Revenue of roughly $184 million was down 10% year-over-year for the three months ended in December compared with a roughly 40% decline two years earlier. And the company's loss of around $29 million in the fourth quarter is a sharp improvement from the roughly $80 million loss at the end of 2023.
Like other air carriers, Wheels Up is working to protect its finances against higher fuel costs by passing them on to customers. Private fliers tend to be more immune to price increases, but "if this continues to play out, it certainly could have an impact," Verkamp said.
In recent years, Wheels Up's roster of active customers has fallen. Management says this was an intentional shedding of low-volume fliers to focus on big spenders, a group that has been growing. They see accessibility as a way to now expand the customer base.
"We believe it's stabilized now, and we hope to grow from that," Verkamp said.
Write to Jennifer Williams at jennifer.williams@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2026 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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