Risk Factors Dashboard
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Company’s cybersecurity risk management practices are intended to assess, identify and manage risks from threats to the security of our information, systems, products and network. We have developed and implemented cybersecurity and data privacy processes and procedures that are informed by recognized cybersecurity frameworks and standards, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and International Organization for Standardization 27001 (ISO 27001) Framework. We use these frameworks, together with information collected from assessments, to tailor aspects of our cybersecurity and data privacy practices given the nature of our assets, operations and business. Key features of our cybersecurity and data privacy processes and procedures include the following:
have not identified risks from cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any past cybersecurity incidents, since the beginning of the last full fiscal year that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. See the caption titled “Risks Relating to Technology, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy” in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report for more information about cybersecurity and data privacy risks.Management is responsible for day-to-day monitoring of the prevention, detection, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. Our CISO, who reports to our Chief Digital Officer, has primary oversight of material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our CISO has more than 25 years of experience across various information technology, information security and management roles, including leading the development and implementation of cybersecurity and data privacy strategies for the member and customer-facing aspects of our business. In addition, our CISO holds degrees in Engineering Technology and Information Systems and Technology, and industry certifications awarded by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Information Systems Security Engineering Professional (ISSEP). Our U.S. Data Privacy Officer, who reports to our Chief Legal Officer, is a licensed attorney, and holds industry certifications awarded by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Our European Data Privacy Officer, who reports to our CISO, has a master’s degree in public international law, and has over 10 years of experience working in cybersecurity, data protection and governance. Each of our U.S. Data Privacy Officer and European Data Privacy Officer have primary oversight of material risks related to data privacy in their respective territories.
Risks Relating to Our Business Model, Strategic Execution and External Environment
We may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategies or realize the expected benefits of our strategic initiatives, including changes in our commercial offerings, operational efficiency and cost reduction actions, and our fleet modernization strategy.
To timely achieve our business and financial goals, we must, among other things, grow our service offerings and customer base to continue competing effectively, realize efficiencies and cost savings, leverage our first-of-its-kind partnership with Delta, progress our fleet modernization strategy, optimize our asset utilization and operations, and develop our technology and infrastructure to support our operations. We may not be successful in implementing these initiatives or fail to realize the expected benefits on the timelines that we anticipate, including due to factors outside of our control, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our current fleet modernization strategy has been and will continue to be capital and resource intensive for its duration due to the scale of the transformation. During the period of transition, we may experience variability in, or adverse effects to, our assets, business, results of operations and financial condition due to, among other things, changes in the market for purchases, leases and sales of aircraft, costs associated with such strategy, including to hire or re-train qualified personnel, incurring additional debt to finance aircraft acquisitions and our ability to timely tailor our service offerings alongside changes in our aircraft fleet. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors. In addition, we may not execute our current fleet modernization plan on the timeline that we currently anticipate or may fail to realize the expected benefits from such strategy, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We frequently evaluate strategic transactions involving our business, which involve risk and may adversely affect our ability to execute our strategic business initiatives or achieve our financial goals.
We frequently consider opportunities to acquire other assets, businesses, products or technologies, divest assets or businesses, and enter into other strategic transactions to advance our business initiatives, enhance our service offerings and operations, help us achieve our financial goals or otherwise improve our long-term performance and value. Any such transaction could be material to us and involve substantial execution risk, contingent consideration, issuances of dilutive securities or the assumption or incurrence of debt. If we pursue any strategic transaction, our ability to successfully implement and realize the benefits from such transaction would depend on many factors, including with respect to, among others, our lenders, other capital sources, contractual restrictions and regulators. We cannot guarantee that any future transaction will be completed or integrated successfully, or that it will result in the anticipated benefits, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A decrease in demand for the private aviation services we offer could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Demand for private aviation services has historically fluctuated due to economic cycles, geopolitical events, the COVID-19 pandemic and other events that influence the behavior of private flyers. Any general downturn in economic, business and financial conditions, including outsized impacts in larger metropolitan areas in the U.S., U.K. and Europe where our members and charter customers are more concentrated, that has an adverse effect on our members’ or customers’ spending habits could decrease their demand for travel and, to the extent they travel, increase their use of other modes of travel. If demand for private aviation and other services we offer, or our success in selling our services, were to decrease, we could experience slower than expected growth, lower demand for flight services, a reduction in flight spend or the utilization of our aircraft, lower purchases or usage of Membership Funds, or a general shift from our membership program (where Membership Funds received up front are typically applied to future flying over a multi-month period), to our charter solutions (where funds for a flight are received close in time to booking), including due to our responses to changes in demand for our services, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and financial goal achievement.
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The private aviation industry in the markets in which we compete is highly competitive.
We compete with many participants in the highly fragmented private aviation industry, including geographically diverse private aviation and commercial airline operators with varying business models. Our present and potential customer base is finite, and we must continue to refine our service offerings to remain attractive to a broad base of potential members and customers with varying needs. We may also introduce new service offerings or enter new geographic markets where competitive dynamics or regulatory requirements are different, which may impact the adoption of our commercial offerings or reduce the expected benefits from capital investments. Variability in competition in the private aviation industry and any inability by us to compete effectively in the markets we serve could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. See the heading “Competition & Strategic Outlook” in Part I, Item 1 “Business” in this Annual Report for more information about factors that affect competition in the private aviation industry.
Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financial results.
Our reputation and brand, the ease and reliability of our services and our ability to provide high-quality member and customer experiences are important to our business and financial success. If our efforts to promote and maintain our brand and reputation are not successful, we do not continuously achieve high levels of member and customer satisfaction or there is an adverse event that impacts the perception of us or the private aviation industry, our ability to attract and retain members and customers and our business, growth plans, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. We believe that our management team is well positioned to identify targets in the aspirational lifestyle space offering attractive risk-adjusted returns and that their contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers, in addition to the extensive global industry and geographical reach of the other members of our sponsor group, will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities.
Risks Relating to Our Aircraft Operations and Safety
The operation of aircraft is subject to risks, and our failure, or the failure of the aviation industry, to maintain an acceptable safety record may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The operation of aircraft is subject to risks, including catastrophic disasters, crashes and mechanical failures, which may result in personal injury, loss of life and environmental and property damage. We cannot guarantee that our safety and training programs will prevent future accidents or provide an adequate level of safety to support an acceptable safety record. Any accident involving the aircraft models that we operate could obligate us to take those aircraft out of service until the cause of the accident is determined and rectified. It is also possible that the FAA or other regulatory bodies in another country could ground a model of aircraft that we fly and restrict it from flying in their airspace. Safety issues experienced by a particular aircraft model could negatively affect the public’s view of industry safety, result in members and customers refusing to use that particular aircraft model or prompt a regulatory body to ground that model. If any of these events occur, our compliance costs could increase, we could experience losses from, among other things, the termination of member and customer relationships, reputational damage, higher insurance rates, passenger litigation, survivors and property owners involved in any incident, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, potential grounding of our fleet and/or suspension or revocation of our operating authorities. In addition, the value of the aircraft model might also be diminished in the secondary market if it is considered less desirable for future service, which may adversely affect our compliance with certain debt covenants or require us to post additional collateral to comply with such covenants. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence.
We are exposed to operational disruptions and costs due to maintenance and repairs to our aircraft.
We rely on internal maintenance and repair capabilities for certain items for our controlled aircraft, and supplement those capabilities by using third party providers, generally for heavier maintenance, repair or inspection events. The availability of third-party maintenance and repair services is finite, and the facilities are geographically dispersed. We also frequently operate in remote locations where the delivery of parts or transportation of maintenance personnel is more difficult, which could result in operational disruptions. If we are unable to perform timely maintenance and repairs to our aircraft, our aircraft may become prone to unplanned maintenance events that impact members and customers or unavailable for extended periods, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Occasionally, OEMs and/or regulatory authorities (such as the FAA) require mandatory or recommended modifications or inspections for particular aircraft, which may mean having to ground aircraft permanently or for extended periods while maintenance is performed or parts become available for installation. This may cause operational disruption to us, result in unexpected costs and pose a risk to our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our maintenance costs could potentially increase as our fleet ages or we concentrate our controlled fleet to fewer aircraft models. Any failure to comply with regulatory requirements related to the maintenance and operation of our aircraft may result in enforcement actions, including revocation or suspension of our operating authorities, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are sometimes affected by aviation-related factors beyond our control, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Like other aviation companies, our business is affected by factors beyond our control, including air traffic and ground congestion at airports, airport closures, air traffic control inefficiencies and air traffic re-routing, staffing shortages, including as a result of government shutdowns or funding changes, security-related issues, changing governmental, legal, regulatory and security requirements, and new or changing travel-related tariffs, trade policies and taxes. These factors may restrict our ability to service certain locales, cause flight delays, frustrate passengers and increase operating costs, which in turn could adversely affect demand for services and our margins.
In the U.S., the federal government singularly controls all U.S. airspace. The expansion of our aircraft operations into international markets would involve a greater interaction with the regulatory authorities of the foreign countries in which we may operate. Inefficiencies in air-traffic control systems frequently compel aviation operators to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays and increased operational cost. Unexpected technical system outages have occurred in the past and have resulted in the temporary grounding of commercial air traffic for periods, which adversely affected, among others, private aviation industry operators during the duration of the outage. Understaffing of certain U.S. and foreign air traffic control systems have led to flight delays and cancellations and resulted in additional costs for aviation operators. In addition, changes to U.S. or international air traffic control systems or protocols could lead to increased costs, legal issues or operational inefficiencies. Each of the foregoing instances could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Extreme weather, natural disasters and other adverse events could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, pervasive thunderstorms, hurricanes, snowstorms, fog, mist, sea-level rise, wildfires or earthquakes can cause flight delays or cancellations or other operational impacts, loss of revenue, decreased demand for our services and reputational harm to us. We frequently fly to small or non-primary airports without a commercial airline presence, which may not maintain the level of preparedness to continue operations during such events. In addition, we must plan our operations around adverse weather conditions and natural disasters that may render large areas inaccessible for extended periods or at peak demand times. Delays or cancellations of flights due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, or related air traffic control issues or inefficiencies, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Terrorist activities, geopolitical hostilities or other security events may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Terrorist activities, geopolitical hostilities or other security events, or the fear or threat of those events, have historically adversely affected the aviation business in general. These events could cause flight delays and disruptions, result in travel restrictions, discourage members and customers from flying and decrease purchases of Membership Funds. In addition, such events, even if not directly involving air travel, may require us to devote more financial resources and time to compliance with new regulations or heightened safety and security procedures, or generally reduce the demand for private aviation services. We cannot provide any assurance that these events will not harm the aviation industry generally or our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Increases in fuel costs could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our members pay an indexed aircraft fuel surcharge based on estimated billable flight time. Given our contractual ability to pass on increased fuel costs to our members and customers, as of the date of this Annual Report we do not hedge fuel costs. Any sustained increase in aircraft fuel prices and/or reduction in levels of flight activity related thereto may adversely affect member retention, the use of Membership Funds, charter flight activity and sales efforts, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In the future, environmental regulations may require us to use alternative fuels that increase our costs or costs for our members and customers due to scarcity and unavailability in the areas in which we operate.
Risks Relating to Our Relationships with Third Parties
If we face problems with any of our third-party service providers, our operations could be adversely affected.
Bombardier Inc., Embraer S.A., Textron Inc., Honeywell International, Inc., Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. and Rolls-Royce Corporation manufactured virtually all of our controlled aircraft and engines. Our agreements with OEMs and other third-party service providers for maintenance and repair services and parts are generally subject to their product and workmanship warranties. We may bear rising costs passed through by these third parties, including due to increases in labor, transportation and raw materials costs and tariffs and trade policies. In addition, we may bear increased costs if we determine it is in our best interests to change vendors or service providers, including from maintenance programs facilitated through OEMs to other third-party service providers, or vice versa. If any of these OEMs or other third-party service providers do not meet their obligations to us, there is an interruption in parts production or the provision of services for any reason, the costs to procure parts and maintenance services increases significantly or our agreements with such OEMs or other third-party service providers unexpectedly end, our operations may be severely disrupted, which could adversely affect our ability to serve members and customers, the value of our aircraft, relations with our lenders and our results of operations and financial condition. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial Business Combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates.
We also rely on third-party service providers for essential elements of our operations and corporate activities, including IT services. Our agreements with such third-party providers are generally subject to termination after notice or a stated period. If our third-party service providers terminate their contracts with us or do not provide timely or consistent service, we may not be able to replace them in a timely, cost-efficient manner to support our operational needs, which could have adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. If our Board of Directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
If third-party operators that we rely on to provide certain flights to our members and charter customers do not perform adequately or unexpectedly terminate their relationships with us, our costs may increase and our business, operations, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Our ability to source charter services from reliable third-party operators for a portion of member and charter customer flights is important to our business model and service delivery. These third-party operators are generally subject to similar operational, business and financial risks as us. Several of these third-party operators provide capacity to us that we may be unable to replace promptly or in a cost-effective manner if the operator fails to perform its obligations to us. If any third-party operator does not perform to our expectations, fails to deliver their services to us or on our behalf in a timely manner or at all, or terminates its relationship with us for any reason, we may be held responsible by our members and customers and our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines.
In the past, we have provided minimum flight guarantees, prepayments and deposits to third-party aircraft operators to secure their services during times of high demand and limited aircraft supply. If we are unable to add new or replace third-party operators over time, or otherwise source the requisite number of aircraft to service our flight demand on terms favorable to us, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by, among other things, higher than expected capital or operating expenditures as we seek alternatives or costs to recover any prepayments or deposits made to such operators to secure their services.
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We rely on third parties maintaining open marketplaces to distribute our mobile and web applications and flight management system, the disruption of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on third parties to maintain open marketplaces for downloads of our mobile applications. There can be no assurance that the marketplaces through which we distribute our applications will maintain their current structures or will not increase costs to list our applications for download. We may not be able to maintain or modify our platform, including our mobile and web-based applications and UP FMS, to ensure its compatibility with third-party offerings following development changes. Moreover, some of our competitors or technology partners may take actions that disrupt the interoperability of our offerings with their own products or services, or exert strong business influence on our ability to operate our platform and provide our service offerings to members and customers.
In addition, if any open marketplaces or our third-party providers of applications, software, products and services on which we may rely cease to provide access or alter their terms in a manner in which we believe to be unattractive or unreasonable, do not provide us with the most current version of such software, modify their products, standards or terms of use in a manner that degrades the functionality or performance of our platform, or gives preferential treatment to competitive products or services, we may be required to seek alternatives, which may be more expensive, inferior or unavailable. Any of these events, and downstream harm to our operations, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Our Employees
The loss of key personnel upon whom we depend on to operate our business, the inability to attract additional qualified personnel and increased labor costs could adversely affect our business.
We compete against commercial and private aviation operators, including the major airlines, for management leaders, maintenance and operations personnel, pilots and other skilled labor. We may not be successful in retaining or attracting highly qualified and talented personnel, including management leaders, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our pilots are subject to stringent qualification and flight training standards, which require timely access to flight simulators, instructors and related training equipment at significant expense. We regularly hire and retrain pilots as part of our fleet modernization strategy, which could increase our training and labor costs, or result in fluctuations in pilot availability relative to demand or other inefficiencies, which could increase our operating expenses, adversely affect our margins and make the achievement of our growth and financial goals more difficult.
The unionization of our pilots, maintenance or operations personnel could increase our labor costs and lead to other operational disruptions.
As of the date of this Annual Report, our pilots, maintenance and operations personnel are not represented by labor unions. If, in the future, our employees engage in union organizing activity, we may be required to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement in good faith, experience work slowdowns or stoppages, receive adverse public attention and experience additional business complications, each of which could increase our operating expenses and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and competitive position.
Financial Risks Relating to Us and Our Business
We anticipate continued variability in our financial results as we execute our multi-year business transformation.
We have a history of net losses and negative cash flows from operations, and anticipate continued variability in our net losses and cash flows during our multi-year business transformation. If we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase such profitability. As a result, we may take action to stabilize our revenue sources, improve our margins, reduce costs or realize efficiencies and address changes in market dynamics. The timing of any achievement of our business and financial goals may not align with our predictions or occur at all. If we cannot achieve and sustain profitability and positive cash flow or raise additional capital, our business could be adversely
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affected, we may not have sufficient liquidity, and we may not be able to meet our contractual obligations, including under aircraft operating leases, debt obligations and deferred revenue arrangements with members and customers. In addition, any assumptions underlying estimates of growth, expected cost savings, revenues, or operational or profitability goals may turn out to be inaccurate and the timing of such results may not be predicable with certainty. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing.
Our debt obligations include covenants and events of default that limit certain actions we may take, and any failure to comply with such covenants and events of default could adversely affect us.
Our debt obligations under the Revolving Equipment Notes, Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility (as each term is defined in Note 8, Long-Term Debt in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in this Annual Report), and other financing agreements that we may enter into from time to time, contain certain covenants and events of default that we must comply with, such as:
•under the Revolving Equipment Notes, certain loan to value ratio and average age limit covenants for financed aircraft, a requirement to maintain interest reserves and requirements to pledge additional cash or tangible collateral for the benefit of the Revolving Equipment Note lenders in the event of non-compliance;
•under the Credit Agreement, limitations on our ability to prepay other indebtedness, repurchase or issue our Common Stock or other equity interests, pay dividends and make certain distributions, including to our stockholders, make certain investments, acquire or dispose of certain assets and complete certain merger transactions, and replace existing debt and incur new debt and encumbrances; and
•under the Investor Rights Agreement, requirements for certain Lenders to approve, among other things, large capital expenditures, certain acquisitions of assets or equity interests in excess of certain amounts, issue equity interests, materially change our business or enter into certain arrangements with a Lender.
Certain covenants and events of default in our debt agreements are subject to important exceptions, qualifications and cure rights. In addition, certain of our debt obligations are cross-collateralized, such that an event of default or acceleration of debt under one agreement will result in an event of default under other debt agreements. If we fail to comply with such covenants, experience events of default for which no cure, amendment, consent or waiver is timely obtained, or do not timely refinance the debt obligations subject to such covenants or take other mitigating actions, the holders of our debt could, among other things, declare all amounts, premiums and penalties immediately due and payable and, subject to applicable terms, repossess or foreclose on collateral, including our aircraft, other assets and subsidiary equity interests that are pledged as collateral under certain debt agreements. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate Business Combination. Any default, event of default, acceleration of debt, actions to repossess or foreclose on collateral, credit downgrade or failure to obtain additional financing on terms we deem attractive, or at all, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See Part II, Item 7A “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in this Annual Report for information about interest rate risk.
Our ability to obtain additional financing, refinance our existing debt obligations in the future on terms we deem attractive or access the capital markets may be limited.
We require sufficient liquidity levels for our operations and strategic business initiatives, including our multi-year business transformation and fleet modernization strategy. We have existing debt obligations and may seek to incur additional debt or other arrangements in the future to fund working capital requirements, other debt service obligations, strategic transactions, capital expenditures and strategic initiatives. Factors that may affect our ability to obtain additional financing, refinance existing debt obligations or access the capital markets on terms attractive to us include: our financial performance, operating cash flows and liquidity; the timing of capital requirements or strategic initiatives; changes in the market for our equity securities and conditions in the capital markets generally; credit status or credit ratings; market conditions in the private aviation industry; general economic conditions and geopolitical events; and the ability to use our assets as collateral for future financings, refinancings or sale-leaseback transactions. We may also be required to seek the consent of third parties under the agreements governing our existing indebtedness and the Investor Rights Agreement for any new financing, refinancing or capital markets activity. External financing may not be available to us in the future on terms that we deem attractive, or at all, to fund the capital needs of our business. Any inability to source additional financing on terms we deem attractive, or
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at all, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, and our ability to execute our strategic goals.
We may never realize the full value of our assets, including goodwill or our long-lived assets, which may cause us to record impairments that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We are required under accounting standards to test our indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill, for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently where there is an indication of impairment. We are also required to test certain of our other assets for impairment where there is any indication that an asset may be impaired. These assessments are sensitive to key assumptions, such as appraised asset values, forecasts of future cash flows, interest rates and weighted average cost of capital, volatility in the capital markets and fluctuations in our stock price. If the assumptions used in these assessments are not realized or they change, we may need to record an impairment charge, as we have from time to time in the past. Any future impairment loss related to our assets or goodwill could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, the trading prices for our Common Stock and the perception of the Company held by investors, members and customers, and other third parties.
The residual value of our owned aircraft may be less than estimated in our depreciation policies.
As of December 31, 2025, $185.1 million of our property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation, was attributable to our owned aircraft. Significant decreases in the market value of our long-lived assets, the condition of those long-lived assets or our use of such assets, operating cash flows associated with the use of our long-lived assets, changes in supply and demand for the aircraft types we operate or strategic business initiatives that result in the retirement of certain aircraft, can each give rise to an impairment charge if the estimated residual value of affected asset is determined to be lower than the residual value assumptions used in our depreciation policies. An impairment charge related to any of the aircraft models that we operate or an increased level of depreciation expense resulting from a change to our depreciation policies could result in an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Similarly, any factor that results in an impairment charge for any of the aircraft models we operate could lead to lower appraised values for such aircraft, the magnitude of which may increase as we concentrate our controlled fleet to two primary aircraft types, which in turn could adversely affect covenant compliance under certain of our debt agreements and increase the difficulty of refinancing or securing additional financing secured by those assets.
We may incur substantial costs related our leased aircraft, including for return obligations.
Our aircraft leases generally have multi-year terms, require us to pay for maintenance costs associated with the aircraft and return the aircraft to the lessor in a specified condition. Any unexpected increase in leased aircraft maintenance or return costs, whether due to issues that become prevalent in certain aircraft models over time or due to manufacturer defects not covered under applicable warranties, the availability and cost of any parts or equipment necessary to put the aircraft in the required return condition, or the strategic early termination or non-renewal of a lease, may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Any inability to maintain sufficient insurance coverage on terms we deem attractive may adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.
We carry insurance that we believe are customary in the private aviation industry, including, but not limited to, aviation hull, aviation liability, premises, hangarkeepers, product, war risk, general liability, workers compensation, directors and officers liability and cybersecurity. If our insurance carriers are unable or unwilling to provide us with sufficient coverage on terms we deem attractive, including due to losses within the aviation industry and the impact of general economic conditions, and if insurance coverage is not available from another source, our insurance costs may increase or result in a breach of regulatory requirements or contractual arrangements requiring that specific insurance be maintained, each of which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that our insurance underwriters will be able to fund existing and future claims, which may also adversely affect us. We may also decide to self-insure or increase our retention under insurance policies, which could result in larger or more frequent losses. In addition, if our third-party aircraft operators’ insurance costs increase, they will likely pass on the increased costs to us, which in turn could increase the prices we charge to our customers, adversely affect demand for our services and harm our business.
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Legal and Compliance-Related Risks to Us and Our Business
Any changes in federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances, including any that impose additional requirements and restrictions on our operations, could increase our compliance and operating costs and result in service delays and disruptions.
We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to, among other things:
•regulation of our air carrier operations by the DOT, FAA, DHS, TSA, CBP and other governmental agencies, which impose substantial certification and compliance costs on us and may also restrict our business now or in the future, including by grounding aircraft, requiring enhanced inspections of or maintenance on our aircraft, or other actions to suspend or revoke our FAA operating certificates or frustrate our ability to obtain required licenses, clearances or bonds from governmental agencies;
•environmental and noise-related regulations and ordinances, including for emissions, pollution and the disposal of hazardous substances, oils and waste materials; and
•climate change, carbon emissions, waste generation and energy-related regulations, and related public disclosure requirements, which may curb the use of conventional aviation fuels, require the use of renewable or other fuels for our aircraft at higher costs, require us to make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations or otherwise prepare for, respond to and mitigate the physical effects of climate change or environmental factors on our operations.
In addition to existing laws, regulations and ordinances, including the foregoing, we are or may in the future be subject to new or proposed laws and regulations that may affect us directly or indirectly, including through our members and customers, third parties on which we rely or in the areas in which we operate. Any such existing, new or potential laws, regulations and ordinances could increase our compliance and operating costs, require management to devote more time and resources to compliance, operations or remediation actions, and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.
Any inability to satisfy the terms of our contractual agreements, including operating leases and debt financing obligations, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have contractual obligations necessary for our operations and business, including:
•fixed or variable rate aircraft operating leases that include end-of-lease return conditions that may result in substantial payments by us to maintain and return the aircraft to its owner at the end of the lease;
•agreements with our members and charter customers, including Membership Fund agreements under which we agree to provide future services for which we have already received deferred revenue and our performance requires sufficient levels of working capital in the future to meet our performance obligations;
•debt financing obligations, including the Revolving Equipment Notes, Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility, that may require periodic prepayments upon the occurrence of certain events or events of default and will require substantial repayments or refinancing at maturity; and
•ordinary course contractual obligations needed for our operations, such as fuel purchase, credit card processing, software and IT services and other agreements with third parties, which have varying terms and conditions and may require prepayments upon the occurrence of certain events.
Our ability to timely pay or perform our contractual obligations as they come due will depend on, among other things, our future run-rate results of operations, cash flows and financial condition and available financing options. We may not have sufficient available liquidity, our operations may not generate sufficient cash flow to make required payments as they come due and we may not be able to obtain additional financing in the future to fund our operations and pursue our strategic business initiatives. Any inability to pay, perform or satisfy our contractual obligations as they come due for any reason and maintain sufficient levels of working capital could have an adverse
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effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, or require the Company to seek strategic alternatives that may not be favorable to stockholders, including under bankruptcy or insolvency laws.
Delta may have the right to terminate its commercial agreements with us under certain circumstances.
Our first-of-its-kind partnership with Delta is governed by the long-term CCA and related agreements, the primary goals of which are to provide our members and customers with Delta benefits and access to private aviation services and premium commercial travel across our respective platforms, join in marketing, communications and sales efforts, and expand other business initiatives. We continue to deepen our partnership with Delta and believe it is an important value proposition for us and our members and customers. Delta has the right to terminate the CCA and the other commercial agreements under certain circumstances. Any amendment or modification of the CCA or other commercial arrangements with Delta requires certain stockholders to consent under the Investor Rights Agreement, and there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain such consents. Any termination of the CCA or other commercial arrangements with Delta, or any inability to timely enter into other arrangements with Delta on terms favorable to us could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property or are found to be infringing on intellectual property of others, we may incur significant expense and our business may be adversely affected.
Our intellectual property includes our trademarks, domain names, websites, mobile and web applications, software (including our proprietary algorithms and data analytics engines), copyrights, trade secrets, inventions (whether or not patentable) and a patent. Our efforts to protect our intellectual property may not be sufficient or effective. We may be unable to prevent competitors from acquiring intellectual property that is similar to or diminishes the value of our intellectual property. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our brand and reputation may be adversely affected and our competitive position may be harmed, each of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to the risk of third parties infringing our intellectual property and that our proprietary algorithms, data analytics engines, or other software or trade secrets, including UP FMS, may be compromised by third-parties or our employees. We may not always be successful in securing protection for, or identifying or stopping infringements of, our intellectual property and we may need to enforce our rights by taking legal action. Any intellectual property-related litigation could result in unanticipated costs and a diversion of resources, or result in a ruling that our intellectual property rights are unenforceable.
Any intellectual property claims asserted against us by third parties, whether or not such claims have any merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to settle or litigate. If we are unsuccessful in defending such a claim, we may be required to pay substantial damages, stop using our intellectual property, seek a license at a substantial cost to continue using such intellectual property in our operations, or develop non-infringing alternatives, each of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to litigation and may in the future be subject to additional actions, which could cause us to incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources.
Claims and litigation, including ordinary course and securities-related claims, may arise from time to time, including due to our operations, the market volatility of our Common Stock, transactions or actions taken by the Board or management and reports filed with the SEC. We have been a target of litigation in the past, are currently defending certain securities and other claims, and may be the target litigation in the future. Litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could harm our business. We dispute the claims that have been asserted against us and intend to vigorously defend against them. Litigation, however, is inherently uncertain, and we cannot predict the outcome or estimate the range of loss, if any, that could result from an unfavorable outcome or the applicability of our insurance policies. Any judgment against the Company, the Board or management, whether or not covered by applicable insurance policies, may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, reputation and prospects for an indefinite period. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-Business Combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms.
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Risks Relating to Technology, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
Any failure of or unauthorized access to our information security and data privacy systems may harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We devote significant resources to and place high importance on maintaining the security and integrity of the member, customer, employee and third-party information that we process. Instances of unauthorized access to information systems and data have been prevalent in recent years and resulted in significant disruption, losses and reputational harm for companies, including for other participants in the private aviation industry. We are subject to, among others, the following risks related to information security and data privacy, any one of which could adversely affect our business, increase costs for detection, assessment and remediation, result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties against us related to unauthorized access, breaches or misappropriation or harm our brand and reputation, which in turn could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation:
•a cybersecurity incident, breach or disruption involving our internal network or information systems, including as a result of ransomware or malware attacks, vulnerabilities in licensed software or hardware or the use of third-party networks that we do not control or have the ability to monitor due to a significant portion of our workforce working remotely from time to time or traveling frequently, or as a result of other attacks or misappropriation, including artificial intelligence (AI) related issues;
•the loss, disclosure, misappropriation of, misuse, or unauthorized access to members’, customers’, employees’, third-party operators’, vendors’ or other business partners’ information, including personal identifying information, due to a compromise of our systems or technology, or any inability to operate our systems; and
•our inability to anticipate or detect for extended periods of time a cybersecurity incident or breach, or unauthorized access to or use of data, including personal identifying information, sensitive competitive data or safety and security-related data about our members, customers, employees, vendors or operations, or confidential or other critical data or systems, and our reliance on third parties to help us to implement and manage our cybersecurity risks.
A failure in our technology or technology infrastructure, including due to our reliance on third parties, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The performance and reliability of our information technology systems and business processes, including UP FMS, the Wheels Up mobile app and other systems we use to manage our operations and ensure a high quality experience for our members and customers are critical to our operations. Certain of these information technology systems are created, hosted or facilitated by or through third parties that we do not control or influence. We are subject to, among other things, the following risks related to our technology and systems, any one of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, brand and reputation:
•a disruption or change in service levels with respect to our mobile and web-based applications, UP FMS and cloud infrastructure services provided by third parties, and large-scale external interruption in the technological infrastructures on which we and our third-party operators depend, that are outside of our control and may be affected by, among others, natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions, capacity constraints, terrorist attacks, power outages, epidemics and pandemics, an isolated, recurring or sustained internal technological error or failure, and similar events or acts of misconduct that could last for short or extended periods;
•faulty updates from third-party software providers that may interrupt other applications or lead to system outages that result in operational delays or require unexpected expenditures or expertise to remediate; and
•our failure to adequately invest in information systems and cybersecurity software, programs and personnel to effectively implement and manage our cybersecurity risks and cost constraints associated with any measures that we take and such third parties take to avoid, detect, mitigate or recover from material
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cybersecurity threats or incidents, and the possibility that such measures may be insufficient or ineffective depending on the circumstances.
Privacy concerns in the territories in which we operate could result in additional costs and liabilities to us.
Many government bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations regarding the processing and protection of personal information, breach notification procedures and other data privacy protocols. We are required to comply with certain laws, rules and regulations relating to data security in the areas in which we operate. Interpretation of these laws, rules and regulations and their application to our software, offerings and services in applicable jurisdictions is ongoing and evolves constantly.
In the U.S., rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other current or future state and federal laws relating to privacy and data security could increase our exposure to regulatory enforcement action, increase our compliance costs and adversely affect our business. Certain laws require disclosures about the use of personal data, require users to be able to opt out of information sharing, create causes of actions for data breaches and/or include enforcement and penalty regimes. In addition, the SEC requires disclosures of any cybersecurity or data privacy breaches promptly after their discovery. There is some uncertainty as to how emerging federal and state privacy laws could impact our business as it depends on how such laws will be interpreted.
Outside the U.S., an increasing number of laws, regulations and industry standards apply to data privacy and security, such as the GDPR in the EU, the U.K. DPA and other regulations could increase our exposure to regulatory enforcement action, increase our compliance costs and adversely affect our business. These regulations increased covered businesses’ data privacy and security obligations and imposed stringent data privacy and security requirements, including, for example, detailed notices about how such businesses process personal data, the implementation of security measures, mandatory security breach notification requirements, contractual data protection requirements and limitations on records retention for personal data processing activities.
We expect to continue to devote increasing time and resources to complying with emerging data privacy and cybersecurity laws, rules and regulations. Any failure to comply with applicable data security laws, regulations and rules to which we are subject to could result in, among other things, regulatory proceedings or disputes or litigation against us, losses, damages and fines, or adverse impacts to our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Securities and Being a Public Company
Certain stockholders, which are also lenders to the Company, have significant influence over the Company.
As of the date of this Annual Report, Delta, CK Wheels and CIH collectively own a substantial majority of the outstanding Common Stock. Such stockholders have sufficient voting power to significantly influence all matters requiring stockholder approval, whether at a meeting of stockholders or by written consent as permitted under our Certificate of Incorporation, including the election of directors (including the right to designate nine of the twelve directors on our Board), changes to our Board and management and approval of strategic corporate transactions. Additionally, such stockholders, in their capacity as Lenders under the Credit Agreement, must consent to certain transactions and can direct the agent under the Credit Agreement to exercise or refrain from exercising remedies in the event of a default. As a result, such stockholders in their capacity as stockholders and lenders, may exhibit significant influence over the Company, including for commercial and strategic transactions and other business initiatives involving such stockholders. The interests or objectives of these stockholders may differ from the interests or objectives of the Company and/or other stockholders.
In addition, sales by our largest stockholders of our Common Stock in the public market or the perception in the market that they intend to sell shares could increase the volatility of our Common Stock price or result in a sustained market price decrease. The perception or expectation among the public regarding any such sales or the ability of such stockholders to maintain certain rights tied to the level of ownership of Common Stock could also contribute to a decline in the market price of our Common Stock. Similarly, if these stockholders assign or transfer their rights and obligations under the Term Loan or Revolving Credit Facility to third parties, the third parties could exercise,
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among other things, certain consent and voting rights pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The price of our Common Stock may be volatile, including due to dilutive issuances of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock.
An investment in our Common Stock involves risk and the price of our Common Stock may fluctuate due to factors within and outside of our control, including the risk factors and discussions described in this Annual Report or our future filings with the SEC. In addition, we have completed, and may in the future complete, dilutive issuances of Common Stock, other equity securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock, including pursuant to our current at-the-market Common Stock offering program. The issuance of additional Common Stock, other equity securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock, whether pursuant to public offerings or at-the-market equity distribution programs, private placements, equity incentive plans, existing instruments or otherwise, may result in additional dilution to existing holders of Common Stock and adversely affect the market price and volatility of our Common Stock. In addition, certain of our Lenders hold enough shares of Common Stock as of the date of this Annual Report to provide the required stockholder approval for equity incentive plans under which we grant equity awards settleable into Common Stock to certain directors, executive officers and employees. Any of the foregoing that increase the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock will decrease the percentage ownership held by our existing stockholders and their relative voting power. Also, any future dilutive issuance could be the subject of stockholder litigation or disputes, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The NYSE may delist our Common Stock from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to transact in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
On December 17, 2025, we received a notice from the NYSE that we are no longer in compliance with Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual (“Section 802.01C”), which requires listed companies to maintain an average closing price per share of at least $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. We have until June 17, 2026 to regain compliance with Section 802.01C. There can be no assurance that we will regain compliance with Section 802.01C or that we will meet the NYSE’s continued listing standards in the future to maintain the listing of our Common Stock on the NYSE, which could be impacted by, among others, the trading price of our Common Stock, our results of operations in future periods, other events involving us and general economic, market and industry conditions. The delisting of our Common Stock from the NYSE or actions we may take to list on an another securities exchange, could impact the trading prices, liquidity and volatility of our Common Stock, affect our ability to obtain new financing or refinance our existing obligations and/or result in a loss of confidence by our members, customers, business partners, stockholders or employees, each of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. (“FINRA”) or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a Business Combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the Business Combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Any material weakness in internal control over financial reporting (“ICFR”) or failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures (“DCP”) could result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations.
SEC rules define a material weakness as a deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in ICFR such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a registrant’s financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We must annually provide management’s attestation on internal controls pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”). We must also disclose significant changes to our internal controls procedures on a quarterly basis and any material weaknesses identified by our management in our ICFR during related assessments. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest annually to the effectiveness of our ICFR under SOX.
In past periods, we identified material weaknesses in our ICFR and determined that our DCP were not effective during such periods. We can provide no assurance that measures to remediate deficiencies in past periods or other measures intended to strengthen our internal controls from time-to-time will be sufficient to remediate those control deficiencies or new deficiencies, or that such measures will prevent or avoid any potential future deficiencies in our internal controls. Any deficiencies identified in our ICFR or DCP, if not timely detected and remediated, could limit
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our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material weakness or material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements, or the failure to timely file required reports under the Exchange Act. If any of these instances were to occur, it could cause our stockholders, investors, members and customers to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, result in a decline in the trading prices for our Common Stock and harm our capital raising efforts. Each of the foregoing items could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and the market price and volatility of our Common Stock.
We are currently subject to litigation related to a past restatement of our financial statements, and face the potential for additional litigation or other disputes or sanctions or investigations by the SEC, NYSE or other regulatory authorities, related to internal controls, control deficiencies or financial misstatements in the future, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Our Organizational Documents
Delaware law and our Organizational Documents contain provisions that limit the ability of stockholders to take certain actions and could delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-Laws, effective November 15, 2023 (our “By-Laws” and, together with the Certificate of Incorporation, our “Organizational Documents”) and the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) contain provisions that could make more difficult, delay or prevent an acquisition that stockholders may consider favorable or in which they might otherwise receive a premium for their shares or limit the price that investors might be willing to pay for our Common Stock and reduce the trading price of our Common Stock. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to take certain actions, including electing directors who are not nominated by the current members of our Board or other corporate actions. Our Organizational Documents include provisions:
•providing for a classified board of directors with staggered, three-year terms and prohibiting cumulative voting in director elections, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
•giving our Board the right to issue and determine the price, preferences, voting rights and other features of shares of preferred stock, including “blank check” preferred stock, without stockholder approval, which could be used to dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;
•permitting the holders of outstanding shares of the relevant class or series having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting;
•giving our Board the right to amend our By-Laws, which may allow our Board to prevent an unsolicited takeover and frustrate an acquirer’s attempt to amend our By-Laws to facilitate an unsolicited takeover; and
•requiring stockholders to comply with advanced notice procedures to nominate director candidates or submit stockholder voting proposals, which could discourage stockholders from proposing matters for meetings of stockholders, delay changes in our Board, or discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a proxy solicitation to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
In addition, the terms of the Investor Rights Agreement may have the effect of delaying or preventing hostile takeovers, changes in control or changes in our Board or management if the parties thereto then own a substantial amount of Common Stock and do not participate or consent to the applicable transaction. These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers, changes in control or changes in our Board or management.
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Our Certificate of Incorporation has an exclusive forum provision for certain lawsuits that may have the effect of discouraging certain lawsuits, including derivative lawsuits and lawsuits against our directors and officers, by limiting plaintiffs’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable.
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if that such court does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for any claims made by any stockholder (including a beneficial owner) for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our Organizational Documents, (iv) action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine or (v) action asserting an “internal corporate claim” (as that term is defined in Section 115 of the DGCL). Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that federal district courts will be the sole and exclusive forum for claims under the Securities Act and Exchange Act. These provisions may discourage certain lawsuits, including derivative lawsuits and lawsuits against our directors and officers, by limiting plaintiffs’ ability to bring a claim in certain judicial forums, subject to the possibility that a court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in our Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in such action.
Our Organizational Documents and the Investor Rights Agreement include provisions limiting voting and control by non-U.S. Citizens.
To comply with restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership of U.S. air carriers, our Organizational Documents restrict voting of capital stock held by non-U.S. Citizens. Under federal law, no more than 25% of our stock can be voted, directly or indirectly, by persons who are not U.S. Citizens, and our president/chief executive officer, at least two-thirds of our officers and at least two-thirds of the members of our Board must be U.S. Citizens. Our By-Laws provide that if the number of shares of our capital stock owned or controlled by non-U.S. Citizens exceed 25% of the voting power of our capital stock, the voting rights of the capital stock owned or controlled by non-U.S. Citizens and not registered on a separate stock record (the “Foreign Stock Record”) at the time of any vote or action will be suspended. Voting power will be reinstated for such shares not registered on the Foreign Stock Record upon the earlier of (i) transfer to a U.S. Citizen and (ii) registration of the shares on the Foreign Stock Record. The Investor Rights Agreement also limits the number of shares of Common Stock held by certain Lenders that may be voted by such stockholders in a manner intended to comply with the foregoing requirements. This limitation is also referred to herein as the “Citizenship Limitation.”
The number of shares entered on the Foreign Stock Record may not exceed the Citizenship Limitation and if it does, the voting rights of each stockholder with capital stock registered on the Foreign Stock Record will be suspended on a pro rata basis such that the voting rights afforded to the stock registered on the Foreign Stock Record is equal to the Citizenship Limitation. Voting rights will be reinstated once the voting rights of the capital stock registered on the Foreign Stock Record ceases to exceed the Citizenship Limitation, not taking into consideration the pro rata reduction. Our transfer agent maintains the Foreign Stock Record, but each stockholder that is not a U.S. Citizen is required to register their shares of capital stock as a non-U.S. Citizen.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
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ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
•Risk-based controls for information systems and information on our networks: We seek to maintain an information technology infrastructure that implements controls that are tailored based on risk and designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity and access to our information systems and information stored on our networks, including member, customer and employee information, intellectual property and proprietary information. We employ in-depth defense mechanisms throughout our enterprise, including, but not limited to, employee training, vulnerability management, multi-factor authentication, cybersecurity insurance and managed security services to monitor, mitigate and/or prevent cybersecurity incidents. We also outsource payment processing to a reputable third-party service provider to minimize the sensitive financial information that we maintain for our members and customers.
•Cybersecurity incident management and response: We have a cybersecurity incident response plan and specified teams to respond to cybersecurity incidents. If a cybersecurity incident occurs or we identify a vulnerability, our cross-functional teams lead the initial assessment of priority and severity, and external experts and legal counsel may also be engaged as appropriate. Our cybersecurity teams continuously seek to improve our cybersecurity incident management plan through periodic “table top” exercises and other simulations of common incidents. Further, we work closely with our external managed security services experts to provide ongoing monitoring and to augment our internal cybersecurity team with incident management and response specialists.
•Cybersecurity awareness and training: Our employees are required to complete security awareness training and a compliance course at least annually, which we believe helps our employees understand their information protection and cybersecurity responsibilities. We also provide additional training to certain employees in accordance with member or customer requirements and regulatory obligations. We regularly communicate with employees about evolving cybersecurity trends and threats through company-wide cybersecurity alerts, which reminds our employees of their responsibilities and heightens awareness of cybersecurity events that may be impacting our business, peers and industry.
•Our assessments of third parties : We have implemented a third-party risk management process that includes, among other things, periodic cybersecurity assessments on certain third parties that we utilize based on an assessment of their risk profile. We also seek contractual commitments from third parties to satisfy our cybersecurity and data privacy requirements, and require third parties to maintain their information technology systems and protect Wheels Up information, including sensitive member, customer and employee data that is processed on their systems.
•Third-party assessments of Wheels Up : We have engaged third-party cybersecurity companies to periodically assess our cybersecurity and data privacy processes and procedures, and to assist in identifying and remediating risks from cybersecurity threats. Our third-party assessors regularly conduct penetration testing and measure our processes, procedures and responses against industry standard frameworks. We use the results of these periodic assessments to implement programmatic changes and continuous improvements in alignment with business requirements, industry standards and regulatory requirements.
We believe our cybersecurity risk management practices are an important part of our enterprise risk management processes, which must be continuously updated and improved. As of the date of this Annual Report, we
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Governance
The Board, the Audit Committee of the Board (the “Audit Committee”) and management actively assess the Company’s cybersecurity and data privacy risk management practices with the goal of being proactive rather than reactive. Each of the Board and Audit Committee periodically reviews the Company’s cybersecurity and data privacy risks, including our policies, controls and procedures for identifying, managing, mitigating and responding, if necessary, to such risks. The Audit Committee receives regular reports from our Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) and other members of management, to the extent their relevant areas are impacted, regarding cybersecurity and data privacy measures and procedures, the identification of security gaps and compliance with applicable cybersecurity and data privacy regulations. The Audit Committee then briefs the Board at scheduled meetings about cybersecurity and data privacy developments.
Our CISO supervises a team of cyber risk architects, engineers and managers who actively work to prevent, detect, mitigate and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means. Our cyber risk team collaborates with internal stakeholders to identify and analyze cybersecurity risks to the Company, implement appropriate controls and enable leaders to make risk-based business decisions that implicate cybersecurity considerations. Our CISO also reports on our cybersecurity and data privacy processes, procedures and risks to our executive management team when changes or risks are expected to impact particular portions of our business.
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