This prospectus relates to the offer and sale, from time to time, by the selling stockholders named in this prospectus, or any of their pledgees, donees, transferees, assignees and successors-in-interest and other permitted transferees that hold any of the selling stockholders’ interest in the shares of Class A common stock of Volato Group, Inc. (the “Common Stock”) and private warrants (the “Private Warrants” and together with the Public Warrants (as defined herein), the “Warrants”) after the date of this prospectus (“permitted transferees” and, collectively with such selling stockholders, the “Selling Stockholders”), of up to an aggregate of 23,318,122 shares of Common Stock which consists of (i) 6,883,579 shares of Common Stock that were converted from Class B shares (the “Founder Shares”) that were converted at the time of the Merger (as defined herein) for a price of less than $0.01 per share; (ii) 15,226,000 shares of Common Stock underlying Private Warrants for no additional consideration; (iii) 213,273 shares of Common Stock issued to LSH Partners Securities LLC (“LSHP”) pursuant to the Letter Agreement dated July 26, 2023, as amended on November 30, 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share; (iv) 284,363 shares of Common Stock issued to Roth Capital Partners, LLC (“Roth”) pursuant to the Engagement Letter dated October 16, 2023 as amended on December 1 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share; and (v) 710,907 shares of Common Stock issued to BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”) pursuant to the Letter Agreement dated November 28, 2022, as amended on December 1, 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share, and of up to 15,226,000 Private Warrants which were originally issued for a price of $1.00 per Private Warrant.

This prospectus also covers any additional securities that may become issuable by reason of share splits, share dividends or other similar transactions.

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock or Private Warrants by the Selling Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus, except from the exercise of Private Warrants. However, we will pay the expenses, other than underwriting discounts or selling commissions incurred by the Selling Stockholders in disposing of the securities, associated with the sale of securities pursuant to this prospectus.

We are registering the offer and sale of the securities described above to satisfy certain registration rights we have granted. Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that the Selling Stockholders will offer or sell any of the securities. The Selling Stockholders may offer and sell the securities covered by this prospectus in a number of different ways and at varying prices. Additional information on the Selling Stockholders, and the times and manner in which they may offer and sell the securities under this prospectus, is provided under “Selling Stockholders” and “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus.

You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or amendment carefully before you invest in our securities.

The Common Stock and Warrants are listed on the NYSE American under the symbols “SOAR” and “SOAR.WS”, respectively. On February 1, 2024, the closing price of the Common Stock was $2.28 per share and the closing price of the Warrants was $0.15 per warrant.

The shares of Common Stock being offered for resale pursuant to this prospectus by the Selling Stockholders represent approximately 52.4% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding as of February 1, 2024 (assuming the issuance of all 15,226,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Warrants). The sale of all such shares, or the perception that these sales could occur, could result in a significant decline in the public trading price of the shares of Common Stock. Additionally, certain Selling Stockholders, including holders of Founder Shares and shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Warrants, may experience a positive rate of return on the sale of their shares covered by this prospectus even if the market price per share of Common Stock is below $10.00 per share, while the public stockholders may not experience a similar rate of return on the securities they purchased due to differences in the purchase prices and the current trading price.

Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share. We believe the likelihood that the holders will exercise their Warrants, and therefore the amount of cash proceeds that we would receive, is dependent upon the trading price of the Common Stock. If the trading price of the Common Stock is less than the exercise price thereof, we believe the holders are unlikely to exercise their Warrants. Conversely, the holders are more likely to exercise their Warrants the higher the price of the Common Stock is above the exercise price thereof. As of February 1, 2024, the closing price of the Common Stock as reported on NYSE American was $2.28 per share, which is below the $11.50 exercise price of the Warrants. For so long as the Warrants remain “out-of-the-money,” we do not expect warrant holders to exercise their Warrants. Any amounts to be received upon the exercise of Warrants was not factored into the Company’s anticipated capital resources, and as such would have limited impact on the future liquidity of the Company and its ability to fund operations. See “Risk Factors—There is no guarantee that the exercise price of the Warrants will be less than the trading price of the Common Stock, and they may expire worthless; however, the terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Warrants approve of such amendment.”

We are an “emerging growth company,” as that term is defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, are subject to certain reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our securities involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 8 of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

On December 1, 2023, Volato, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“Volato”), PROOF Acquisition Corp I, a Delaware corporation (“PACI”) and PACI Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of PACI (“Merger Sub”), consummated the previously announced Business Combination Agreement, dated August 1, 2023 (the “Business Combination Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Business Combination Agreement, a business combination between PACI and Volato was effected through the merger of Merger Sub with and into Volato, with Volato surviving the merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PACI (the “Business Combination,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the other agreements contemplated thereby, the “Transactions”). In connection with the consummation of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), PACI changed its name to “Volato Group, Inc.” (“Volato Group”).

In connection with the Closing, and pursuant to the terms of the Business Combination Agreement: (i) each share of common stock of Volato (“Volato Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing was converted into the right to receive 1.01508 shares of Common Stock of Volato Group, (ii) each share of preferred stock of Volato (“Volato Preferred Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing was converted into the right to receive 1.01508 shares of Common Stock, (iii) each share of common stock of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing was converted into Volato Common Stock, (iv) each share of Volato Common Stock and Volato Preferred Stock held in the treasury of Volato immediately prior to the Closing was cancelled and no payment or distribution was made in respect thereof, (v) each outstanding unexercised option to purchase shares of Volato Common Stock was converted into an option to acquire shares of Common Stock (“Options”), (vi) each share of Class A common stock of PACI (“PACI Class A Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing and not redeemed remained outstanding and is now a share of Common Stock and (vii) each share of Class B common stock of PACI (“PACI Class B Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing remained outstanding and is now a share of Common Stock.

Immediately prior to the Closing, Volato closed an additional financing through the sale of 1,035,387 shares of its Series A-1 Preferred Stock, raising an aggregate of $10,353,870 (the “Series A-1 Financing”) which, at the Closing converted into Common Stock, as described above.

Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this prospectus:

This prospectus relates to the offer and sale, from time to time, by the selling stockholders named in this prospectus, or any of their pledgees, donees, assignees and successors-in-interest (“permitted transferees” and, collectively with such selling stockholders, the “Selling Stockholders”), of up to an aggregate of 23,318,122 shares of Common Stock which consists of (i) 6,883,579 shares of Class A common stock of Volato Group, Inc. (the “Common Stock”) that were converted from Class B shares (the “Founder Shares”) that were converted at the time of the Merger (as defined herein) for a price of less than $0.01 per share; (ii) 15,226,000 shares of Common Stock underlying private warrants (the “Private Warrants”) for no additional consideration; (iii) 213,273 shares of Common Stock to be issued to LSH Partners Securities LLC (“LSHP”) pursuant to the Letter Agreement dated July 26, 2023, as amended on November 30, 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share; (iv) 284,363 shares of Common Stock issued to Roth Capital Partners, LLC (“Roth”) pursuant to the Engagement Letter dated October 16, 2023 as amended on December 1 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share; and (v) 710,907 shares of Common Stock issued to BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”) pursuant to the Letter Agreement dated November 28, 2022, as amended on December 1, 2023 for a price of $3.52 per share, and of up to 15,226,000 Private Warrants which were originally issued for a price of $1.00 per Private Warrant. More specific terms of any securities that the Selling Stockholders offer and sell may be provided in a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment that describes, among other things, the specific amounts and prices of the Common Stock being offered and the terms of the offering.

A prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment may add, update or change information included in this prospectus. Any statement contained in this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in such prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified will be deemed to constitute a part of this prospectus only as so modified, and any statement so superseded will be deemed not to constitute a part of this prospectus. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, post-effective amendment or any related free writing prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Neither we nor the Selling Stockholders have authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus we have prepared. We and the Selling Stockholders take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities, in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of those documents, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement, or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

For investors outside the United States: neither we nor the Selling Stockholders have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of our securities and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under “Where You Can Find More Information.”

This prospectus contains references to trademarks, trade names and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ^® or ^™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this prospectus other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future results of operations, financial position, market size and opportunity, our business strategy and plans, the factors affecting our performance and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “seek,” “grow,” “target,” “if” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in the “Risk Factors.” Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this prospectus may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this prospectus. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances

reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this subsection to “we” and “our” refers to the business the business of Volato Group and our consolidated subsidiaries. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in these risk factors, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and future prospects of Volato, in which event the market price of the Common Stock of Volato Group could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks, expenses, and difficulties encountered by companies in their early stage of development. We were formed as a Georgia corporation and launched our business on January 7, 2021. Accordingly, we have limited operating history upon which to base an evaluation of our business and prospects.

While we seek to differentiate our private aviation services by using a cost-effective fleet and offering different products to meet customers’ individual needs, including (i) our ownership program, (ii) our potential jet card customers’ ability to purchase a block of flight hours, and (iii) deposit program products, we may not be successful in attracting or retaining customers. Ours Jet Share customers’ ability to earn charter income on unused hours may not be realized by our customers to the extent anticipated, or at all. Even if these benefits are realized as anticipated, our competitors may offer directly competing services or other features that customers find more attractive.

We have experienced significant net losses since our inception and, given our limited operating history and the significant operating and capital expenditures associated with our business plan, it may experience continuing net losses in the future and may never become profitable (as determined by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or otherwise). If we achieve profitability, we cannot be certain that it will be able to sustain or increase profitability. To achieve and sustain profitability, we must accomplish numerous objectives, including broadening and stabilizing our sources of revenue and increasing the number of customers that utilize our service. Accomplishing these objectives may require significant capital investments. We cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve these objectives.

Our growth strategies include, among other things, attracting new customers and retaining existing customers, expanding our addressable market by opening up private aviation to customers that have not historically used private aviation services, expanding into new markets and developing adjacent businesses. We face numerous challenges in implementing our growth strategies, including our ability to execute on market, business, product/service and geographic expansions. For example, our continued growth could increase the strain on our resources, and we could experience operating difficulties, including difficulties in hiring, training, and managing an increasing number of pilots and other employees. These difficulties may result in the erosion of our brand image, divert the attention of our management and key employees, and impact our financial and operational results.

Our strategies for growth are dependent on, among other things, our ability to expand existing products and services and launch new products and services. Although we may devote significant financial and other resources to the expansion of our products and service offerings, our efforts may not be commercially successful or achieve the desired results. Our financial results and our ability to maintain or improve our competitive position will depend on our ability to effectively gauge the direction of our key marketplaces and successfully identify, develop, market, and sell new or improved products and services in these changing marketplaces. Our inability to successfully implement our growth strategies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations and any assumptions underlying estimates of expected cost savings or expected revenues may be inaccurate.

Our growth will depend in part on our ability to successfully enter new markets and offer new services and products. Significant changes to our existing geographic coverage or the introduction of new and unproven markets may require us to obtain and maintain applicable permits, authorizations, or other regulatory approvals. Developing

and launching new or expanded locations involves significant risks and uncertainties, including risks related to the reception of such locations by existing and potential future customers, increases in operational complexity, unanticipated delays or challenges in implementing such new locations or enhancements, increased strain on our operational and internal resources (including an impairment of our ability to accurately forecast customer demand), and negative publicity in the event such new or enhanced locations are perceived to be unsuccessful. We have scaled our business rapidly, and significant new initiatives may result in operational challenges affecting our business. In addition, developing and launching new or expanded locations may involve significant upfront investment, such as additional marketing and terminal build out, and such expenditures may not generate return on investment. Any of the foregoing risks and challenges could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain customers. If these new or expanded locations are unsuccessful or fail to attract a sufficient number of customers to be profitable, or we are unable to bring new or expanded locations to market efficiently, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business is concentrated on private aviation services, which are vulnerable to changes in consumer preferences, discretionary spending, and other market changes impacting luxury goods and discretionary purchases. The occurrence of geopolitical events such as war, including the current conflict in Ukraine, terrorism, civil unrest, political instability, environmental or climatic factors, natural disaster, pandemic or epidemic outbreak, public health crisis and general economic conditions may have a significant adverse effect on our business. The global economy has in the past, and will in the future, experience recessionary periods and periods of economic instability such as the business disruption and related financial impact resulting from the global COVID-19 health crisis. During such periods, our current and future users may choose not to make discretionary purchases or may reduce overall spending on discretionary purchases. These changes could result in reduced consumer demand for air transportation, including our private aviation services, or could shift demand from our private aviation services to other methods of air or ground transportation for which we do not offer a competing service. If we are unable to generate demand or there is a future shift in consumer spending away from private aviation services, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions, outages, or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, human error, or malfeasance by third parties or our employees, contractors, or service providers, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, or other events. Our insurance may not be sufficient, and there may not be sufficient remedies available to us from our third-party service providers, to cover all losses that may result from these interruptions, outages, or degradation.

Although no aircraft operated by us have called on airports located in countries or territories involved in war or other conflict or that are the subject of country-wide or territory-wide sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations, or other governmental authorities (“Conflict Jurisdictions”) in violation of applicable sanctions or embargo laws in 2021, 2022, or 2023, and we endeavor to take precautions designed to mitigate such risk, it is possible that, in the future, our aircraft may call on airports located in Conflict Jurisdictions inadvertently or without our consent. If these activities occur or result in a violation of law, we could be subject to monetary fines, penalties, sanctions, seizure or damage to our aircraft, or other loss or damage, and our reputation and the market for the Common Stock of Volato Group could be adversely affected.

Sanctions and embargo laws and regulations vary in their application, as they do not all apply to the same covered persons or proscribe the same activities, and these sanctions and embargo laws and regulations may be amended or expanded over time. Current or future counterparts may be affiliated with persons or entities that are or may be in the future the subject of sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S., the EU, or other international bodies. If we determine that these sanctions require us to terminate existing or future contracts to which we or our subsidiaries are a party or if we are found to be in violation of applicable sanctions, our results of operations may be adversely affected or we may suffer reputational harm.

Although we believe that we have complied with all applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations, and intend to maintain compliance, there can be no assurance that we will be in compliance in the future, particularly as the scope of the laws may be unclear and may be subject to changing interpretations. Any violation could result in fines, penalties, or other sanctions that could negatively impact our ability to access U.S. capital markets and conduct our business, and could result in some investors deciding, or being required, to divest their interest, or not to invest, in us. The determination by these investors not to invest in, or to divest from, our securities may adversely affect the price at which our securities trade and the volume of trading. Additionally, some investors may decide to divest their interest, or not to invest, in us simply because we do business with companies that do business in sanctioned countries or territories. Moreover, our charterers may violate applicable sanctions and embargo laws and regulations as a result of actions that do not involve us or our aircraft, and those violations could in turn negatively affect our reputation. In addition, our reputation and the market for our securities may be adversely affected if we engage in certain other activities, such as lawfully entering into charters with individuals or entities that are not controlled by the governments of countries or territories that are the subject of certain U.S. sanctions or embargo laws, or engaging in operations associated with those countries or territories pursuant to contracts with third parties that are unrelated to those countries or territories or entities controlled by their governments. Investor perception of the value of the Common Stock of Volato Group may be adversely affected by the consequences of war, the effects of terrorism, civil unrest, and governmental actions in the countries or territories that we operate in.

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the measures governments and private organizations worldwide implemented in an attempt to contain the spread of this pandemic, resulted in a severe decline in demand for air travel. Measures such as travel restrictions, “shelter in place” and quarantine orders, limitations on public gatherings, cancellation of public events, and many other restrictions resulted in a precipitous decline in demand for business and leisure travel generally during the calendar year 2020 and 2021.

An outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand or travel behavior, or causes government or private organizations to implement travel restrictions or other measures to contain the spread of the disease or public health threat could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and operating results.

Many of the markets in which we operate are competitive as a result of, among other things, the expansion of existing private aircraft operators, expanding private aircraft ownership, and alternatives such as luxury commercial airline service as well as commercial carriers. We compete against several private aviation operators with different business models, and local and regional private charter operators. Although our business model significantly differs from commercial air carriers, we also compete with commercial air carriers who have larger operations and service areas and fixed routes, as well as access to financial resources not available to us. Factors that affect competition in the private aviation industry include price, reliability, safety, regulations, professional reputation, aircraft availability, equipment and quality, consistency, and ease of service, willingness and ability to serve specific airports or regions, and investment requirements. There can be no assurance that our competitors will not be successful in capturing a share of our present or potential customer base. The materialization of any of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have financed our operations and capital expenditures primarily through private financing rounds, and through financing of aircraft pre-delivery payment obligations. In the future, we could be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. This financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. If we sell any such securities in subsequent transactions, our current investors may be materially diluted. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our operational flexibility or profitability. If we cannot raise funds on commercially acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures.

Our operations are capital intensive, and we require sufficient liquidity levels for our operations and strategic growth plans. We have significant debt obligations and may seek to incur additional indebtedness in the future to fund working capital requirements, debt service obligations, capital expenditures, and strategic initiatives. Numerous factors may affect our ability to obtain financing or access the capital markets in the future on terms attractive to us, including our liquidity, operating cash flows, and the timing of capital requirements, credit status and any credit ratings assigned to us, market conditions in the private aviation industry, U.S. and global economic conditions, and conditions in the capital markets generally, and the availability of our assets as collateral for future financings. We can provide no assurance that external financing will be available to us in the future on terms that we deem attractive, or at all, to fund the capital needs for our business. If we are unable to source additional financing on terms we deem attractive, or at all, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected, and we may be unable to execute our strategic goals.

We believe that the future success of Volato Group will depend in large part on our ability to retain or attract highly qualified management and technical and other personnel, particularly pilots and mechanics. We may not be successful in retaining key personnel or in attracting other highly qualified personnel. Any inability to retain or attract significant numbers of qualified management and other personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our pilots are subject to stringent pilot qualification, including minimum flight time hour requirements, and training standards (“FAA Qualification Standards”). The existence of these requirements effectively limits the supply of qualified pilot candidates and increases pilot salaries and related labor costs. Additionally, our pilots are subject to strict rest and duty rules to minimize pilot fatigue. This limits the number of types of operations that our pilots can fly. If our attrition rates are higher than our ability to hire and retain replacement pilots, our operations and financial results could be materially and adversely affected. A shortage of pilots would require us to further increase our labor costs, which would result in a material reduction in our results of operations. These requirements also impact pilot scheduling, work hours, and the number of pilots required to be employed for our operations.

In addition, our operations and financial condition may be negatively impacted if we are unable to train pilots in a timely manner. Due to an industry-wide shortage of qualified pilots, driven by the flight hours requirements under the FAA Qualification Standards and attrition resulting from the hiring needs of other industry participants, pilot training timelines have significantly increased and stressed the availability of flight simulators, instructors, and related training equipment. As a result, the training of our pilots may not be accomplished in a cost-efficient manner or in a manner timely enough to support our operational needs.

Our business is labor-intensive and while our employees are not currently represented by labor unions, we may, in the future, experience union organizing activities by our employees. These union organization activities could lead to work slowdowns or stoppages, which could result in loss of business. In addition, union activity could result in demands that may increase our operating expenses and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and competitive position. Any of the different crafts or classes of our crewmembers could unionize at any time, which would require us to negotiate in good faith with the crewmember group’s certified representative concerning a collective bargaining agreement. In addition, we may be subject to disruptions by unions protesting the non-union status of our other crewmembers. Any of these events would be disruptive to our operations and could harm our business.

As part of our business strategy, we have historically flown HondaJet aircraft and are expanding to fly Gulfstream aircraft. If either Honda Aircraft Company or Gulfstream fails to adequately fulfill our obligations

towards us or experiences interruptions or disruptions in production or provision of services due to, for example, bankruptcy, natural disasters, labor strikes, or disruption of their supply chain, we may experience a significant delay in the delivery of or fail to receive previously ordered aircraft and parts, which would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations and could jeopardize our ability to meet the demands of our customers. Although we could choose to operate aircraft of other manufacturers, such a change would involve substantial expense to us and could disrupt our business activities. Additionally, the issuance of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or manufacturer directives restricting or prohibiting the use of either HondaJet or Gulfstream aircraft would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our fleet requires regular maintenance work, which may cause operational disruption. Our inability to perform timely maintenance and repairs can result in our aircraft being underutilized, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. On occasion, airframe manufacturers or regulatory authorities require mandatory or recommended modifications to be made across a particular fleet which may mean having to ground a particular type of aircraft. This may cause operational disruption to and impose significant costs on us. Furthermore, delivery of components and parts could take a significant period of time, which could result in delays in our ability to maintain and repair our aircraft. Any delays may pose a risk to our business, financial condition, and results of operations. These risks include the potential need to fly our customers on other operators’ equipment at our expense, which can result in additional costs that may be unpredictable.

We are subject to federal, state, and local taxes in the United States. Significant judgment is required in sourcing revenue among various jurisdictions, and in determining the provision for income taxes. We believe our income tax estimates are reasonable, but such estimates assume no changes in current tax rates. In addition, if the Internal Revenue Service or other taxing authority disagrees with a tax position we have taken, as to sourcing, tax rates, or otherwise, and upon final adjudication, we are required to change our position, we could incur additional tax liability, including interest and penalties. These costs and expenses could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Additionally, the taxability of our offerings is subject to various interpretations within the taxing jurisdictions in which we operate. Consequently, in the ordinary course of business, a jurisdiction may contest our reporting positions with respect to the application of our tax code to our offerings. A conflicting position taken by a state or local taxation authority on the taxability of our offerings could result in additional tax liabilities and could negatively impact our competitive position in that jurisdiction. If we fail to comply with applicable tax laws and regulations, we could suffer civil or criminal penalties in addition to the delinquent tax assessment. To the extent our offerings are or may be determined to be taxable in a given jurisdiction, the jurisdiction may still increase the tax rate assessed on such offerings. The property and gross receipts taxation of a mobile asset business such as aviation also varies widely among U.S. jurisdictions. Volato Group seeks to directly or indirectly pass-through such taxes to our customers. In the event we are not able to pass-through any such taxes, our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be adversely impacted.

We offer a Part 135 aircraft ownership program in which owners, through an LLC treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, can receive a revenue share of income from charter flights made by the aircraft as well as deductions for depreciation, including bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) of the IRC. If the aircraft is “listed property” within the meaning of Section 280F of the IRC, the LLC must maintain records to establish that the aircraft is predominantly used in a qualified business use to be eligible for bonus depreciation. We and the LLCs believe our position that the aircraft is not listed property is reasonable. However, the Internal Revenue Service may disagree with this position. If so, the LLC owners will not be able to claim a deduction for bonus depreciation unless the LLC is able to provide adequate substantiation demonstrating that the aircraft is predominantly used in a qualified business use.

In addition, the bonus depreciation deduction provided by Section 168(k) of the IRC for aircraft placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before December 31, 2022 (December 31, 2023, with respect to certain long production property, including certain transportation property) is equal to 100% of the aircraft’s adjusted basis. With respect to aircraft placed in service thereafter, the bonus depreciation deduction phases down 20% per year, thus

reducing the tax benefits of participating in our aircraft ownership program. This could result in lower participation in our aircraft ownership programs. Further, Congress could enact legislation that would more quickly eliminate bonus depreciation and the associated tax benefits.

Fuel is essential to the operation of our aircraft and to our ability to carry out our transport services. Fuel costs are a key component of our pricing of our charter services. We pass on fuel costs to our customers either directly or indirectly, and so we do not maintain hedging arrangements for the price of fuel. However, increased fuel costs may affect the demand for our charter service. Increases in fuel costs, including as a result of the current conflict in Ukraine and the measures governments and private organizations worldwide have implemented in response thereto, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

While we operate a significant portion of the flights for our customers, we are subject to the risk of not being able to support the charter demand from our customers. We offer unlimited guaranteed charter hour booking, with certain conditions, to those customers who are “owners”, meaning those customers are members of entities that own and lease HondaJet fleet aircraft to us. We are subject to variable and potentially surging demand from owners under these agreements, which could require us to find third-party operators to perform an unknown percentage of these flights. We face the risk of paying high prices for third-party operator flights, as we do not have third-party operator contracts in place. We face the risk that we may not be able to find third-party operators to perform services as needed. Our potential inability to meet customer charter demand could have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent that we cannot find a third-party operator to provide a flight at the same rate we were charging the owner, we may actually lose money on these third-party flights.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, approximately 1.0% of our flights were fulfilled by third-party aircraft operators on our behalf. We face the risk that this percentage may increase at any time. In addition, where we do rely on third-party operators due to our reliance on third-parties to supplement our capabilities, we are subject to the risk of disruptions to their operations, which has in the past and may in the future result from many of the same risk factors disclosed herein, such as the impact of adverse economic conditions and the inability of third-parties to hire or retain skilled personnel, including pilots and mechanics. As the private aviation market grows, we expect competition for third-party aircraft operators to increase. Further, we expect that as competition in the private aviation market grows, the use of exclusive contractual arrangements with third-party aircraft operators, sometimes requiring volume guarantees and prepayments or deposits, may increase. This may require us to purchase or lease additional aircraft that may not be available or require us to incur significant capital or operating expenditures.

Our reliance upon others to provide essential services on behalf of our operations may limit our ability to control the efficiency and timeliness of contract services. We have entered into agreements with Honda Aircraft Company and third-party contractors to provide various facilities and services required for our operations, including aircraft maintenance, ground facilities, and technology services, and expect to enter into additional similar agreements in the future. In particular, we rely on Honda Aircraft Company and third-party providers for the procurement of replacement parts or to provide component exchange or repair services for our aircraft fleet. Our agreements with Honda Aircraft Company and other service providers are subject to termination after notice. If our third-party service providers terminate their contracts with us, or do not provide timely or consistently high-quality service, we may not be able to replace them in a cost-efficient manner or in a manner timely enough to support our operational needs, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Hazards are inherent in the aviation industry and may result in the loss of life and property, potentially exposing us to substantial liability claims arising from the operation of aircraft. We carry insurance for aviation hull, aviation liability, premises, hangar keepers, war risk, general liability, workers’ compensation, and other insurance customary

in the industry in which we operate. We do not currently maintain cyber insurance. There can be no assurance that insurance we carry will be sufficient to cover potential claims or that present levels of coverage will be available in the future at reasonable costs. Further, we expect our insurance costs to increase as we add locations, increase our fleet and passenger volumes, and expand into new markets. We also anticipate that recent events, such as the conflict in Ukraine and related international sanctions, will lead to industry-wide increases in aviation insurance costs due to the impact of those recent events on the aviation industry. While insurance underwriters are required by various federal and state regulations to maintain minimum levels of reserves for known and expected claims, there can be no assurance that underwriters have established adequate reserves to fund existing and future claims. The number of accidents, as well as the number of insured losses within the aviation and aerospace industries, and the impact of general economic conditions on underwriters may result in increases in premiums above the rate of inflation. To the extent that our existing insurance carriers are unable or unwilling to provide us with sufficient insurance coverage, and if insurance coverage is not available from another source, our insurance costs may increase, and we may result in being in breach of regulatory requirements or contractual arrangements requiring that specific insurance be maintained, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We must continue to build and maintain a strong brand identity for our products and services, which have expanded over time. We believe that a strong brand identity will continue to be important in attracting customers. If our efforts to promote and maintain our brand are not successful, our operating results and our ability to attract customers will be adversely affected. From time to time, our customers may express dissatisfaction with our products and services, in part due to factors that could be outside of our control, such as the timing and availability of aircraft and service interruptions driven by prevailing political, regulatory, or natural conditions. To the extent dissatisfaction with our products and services is widespread or not adequately addressed, our brand may be adversely impacted, and our ability to attract and retain customers may be adversely affected. With respect to our planned expansion into additional markets, we will also need to establish our brand, and to the extent it is not successful, our business in new markets would be adversely impacted.

Through our marketing, advertising, and communications with our customers, we set the tone for the brand as aspirational but also within reach. We strive to create high levels of customer satisfaction through the experience provided by our team and representatives. The ease and reliability of our services, including our ability to provide high-quality customer support, helps us attract and retain customers. Customers depend on our team to resolve any issues relating to our products and services, such as scheduling changes and other updates to trip details and assistance with certain billing matters. Our ability to provide effective and timely support is largely dependent on our ability to attract and retain skilled employees who can support our customers and are sufficiently knowledgeable about our product and services. As we continue to grow our business and improve our platform, we will face challenges related to providing quality support at an increased scale. Any failure to provide efficient customer support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality support, could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Factors that cause flight delays frustrate passengers and increase operating costs and decrease revenues, which in turn could adversely affect profitability. In the United States, the federal government singularly controls all U.S. airspace, and aviation operators are completely dependent on the FAA to operate that airspace in a safe, efficient, and affordable manner. The future expansion of our business into international markets would result in a greater degree of interaction with the regulatory authorities of the foreign countries in which we may operate. The air traffic control system, which is operated by the FAA, faces challenges in managing the growing demand for U.S. air travel. U.S. and foreign air-traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel

aviation operators to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays and increased operational cost. In addition, there have been proposals before Congress that could potentially lead to the privatization of the United States’ air traffic control system, which could adversely affect our business. Further, implementation of the Next Generation Air Transport System by the FAA would result in changes to aircraft routings and flight paths that could lead to increased noise complaints and lawsuits, resulting in increased costs.

Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, winter snowstorms, or earthquakes, can cause flight cancellations or significant delays. Cancellations or delays due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, air traffic control problems or inefficiencies, breaches in security, or other factors may affect us to a greater degree than our competitors who may be able to recover more quickly from these events, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition to a greater degree than other air carriers. Any general reduction in passenger traffic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our customer base is currently concentrated in the southeastern, southwestern, and southcentral regions of the United States. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations are susceptible to regional economic downturns and other regional factors, including natural disasters, outbreaks and pandemics, economic, social, weather, growth constraints, and regulatory conditions or other circumstances in each of these metropolitan areas. A significant service interruption or disruption at a terminal where we have a significant flight volume could result in the cancellation or delay of a significant portion of our flights and, as a result, could have a severe impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, any changes to local laws or regulations within these key metropolitan areas that affect our ability to operate or increase our operating expenses in these markets would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

The operation of aircraft is subject to various risks, including catastrophic disasters, crashes, mechanical failures, and collisions, which may result in loss of life, personal injury, or damage to property and equipment. We may experience accidents in the future. These risks could endanger the safety of our customers, our personnel, third parties, equipment, cargo and other property (both Volato Group’s and that of third parties), as well as the environment. If any of these events were to occur, we could experience loss of revenue, termination of customer contracts, higher insurance rates, litigation, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions (including potential grounding of our fleet and suspension or revocation of our operating authorities), and damage to our reputation and customer relationships. In addition, to the extent an accident occurs with an aircraft we operate or charter, we could be held liable for resulting damages, which may involve claims from injured passengers and survivors of deceased passengers. There can be no assurance that the amount of our insurance coverage available in the event of these losses would be adequate to cover the losses, or that we would not be forced to bear substantial losses from such events, regardless of our insurance coverage. Moreover, any aircraft accident or incident, even if fully insured, could create a public perception that it is less safe or reliable than other private aircraft operators, which could cause our customers to lose confidence in it and switch to other private aircraft operators or other means of transportation. In addition, any aircraft accident or incident, whether involving us or other private aircraft operators, could also affect the public’s view of industry safety, which may reduce the amount of trust by our customers.

We incur considerable costs to maintain the quality of (i) our safety program, (ii) our training programs, and (iii) our fleet of aircraft. We cannot guarantee that these costs will not increase. Likewise, we cannot guarantee that our efforts will provide an adequate level of safety or an acceptable safety record. If we are unable to maintain an acceptable safety record, we may not be able to retain existing customers or attract new customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements related to the maintenance of our aircraft and associated operations may result in enforcement actions, including revocation or suspension of our operating authorities in the United States and potentially other countries.

Aircraft models that we operate have experienced accidents while operated by third parties. If there is an accident involving aircraft models operated by us or third-party operators, it is unlikely but possible that the FAA could obligate us to ground our aircraft until the cause of the accident is determined and rectified. In that event, we might lose revenues and we might lose customers. It is also possible that the FAA or other regulatory body in another country could ground the aircraft and restrict us from operating that make and model of aircraft within our jurisdiction. In addition, safety issues experienced by a particular model of aircraft could result in customers refusing to use that particular aircraft model or a regulatory body grounding that particular aircraft model. The value of the aircraft model might also be permanently reduced in the secondary market if the model were to be considered less desirable for future service. Accidents or safety issues related to aircraft models that we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our business and the aircraft we operate are characterized by changing technology, introductions and enhancements of models of aircraft and services, and shifting customer demands, including technology preferences. Our future growth and financial performance will depend in part upon our ability to develop, market, and integrate new services and to accommodate the latest technological advances and customer preferences. In addition, the introduction of new technologies or services that compete with our products and services could result in our revenues decreasing over time. If we are unable to upgrade our operations or fleet with the latest technological advances in a timely manner, or at all, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer.

We rely on information technology networks and systems to operate and manage our business. Our information technology networks and systems process, transmit, and store personal and financial information, and proprietary information of our business, and also allow us to coordinate our business across our operation bases. Information technology systems also allow us to communicate with our employees and externally with customers, suppliers, partners, and other third parties. While we believe we take reasonable steps to secure these information technology networks and systems, and the data processed, transmitted, and stored thereon, the networks, systems, and data may be susceptible to cyberattacks, viruses, malware, or other unauthorized access or damage (including by environmental, malicious, or negligent acts), which could result in unauthorized access to, or the release and public exposure of, our proprietary information and our customers’ personal information. In addition, cyberattacks, viruses, malware, or other damage or unauthorized access to our information technology networks and systems, could result in damage, disruptions, or shutdowns to our platform. Any of the foregoing could cause substantial harm to our business, require us to make notifications to our customers, governmental authorities, or the media, and could result in litigation, investigations, or inquiries by government authorities, or subject us to penalties, fines, and other losses relating to the investigation and remediation of an attack or other unauthorized access or damage to our information technology systems and networks.

In December 2022, one of our charter sales representative’s email account passwords was compromised. The compromised account was used by an unknown party to send fraudulent wire transfer information to a broker client, who then sent $22,666 to the incorrect account. After this incident, we implemented a policy to enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across all employee accounts. We also began the process of implementing a warning banner on emails from our charter salespeople, pointing out that we never send wire transfer instructions via email. We only request funds via secure links for each transaction.

Within one month of the December 2022 incident, another incident of email account compromise occurred in our charter sales department, despite that user having MFA enabled. The compromised account was used by an unknown party to send fraudulent wire transfer information to a broker client, who then sent $8,202 to the incorrect account. After this latest incident, we purchased an upgraded authentication system for high-risk users that disallows account login from other countries, and employs other methodologies to identify and prevent suspicious login attempts. We also completed the roll-out of our charter sales email warning banners. Since December 2022, we had implemented a number of additional email and log-in security measures, including password requirements, IP address security rules, and internal training on phishing attacks.

Our systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions, outages, or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, human error, or malfeasance by third parties or our employees, contractors, or service providers, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, or other events. Our insurance may not be sufficient, and we may not have sufficient remedies available from our third-party service providers, to cover all of the losses that may result from interruptions, outages, or degradation.

We may experience system failures and other events or conditions from time to time that interrupt the availability or reduce or affect the speed or functionality of our technology platform. These events could result in losses of revenue due to increased difficulty of booking services through our technology platform, impacts on on-time performance, and resultant errors in operating our business. A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability or other functionality of our platform could adversely affect our business and reputation and could result in negative publicity, customer dissatisfaction, or the loss of customers.

We contemplated our platform’s mobile applications will rely on third parties maintaining open marketplaces, including the Apple App Store and Google Play, which make applications available for download. We additionally rely on such third-party marketplaces for access to certain third-party applications that we use to provide our services. We cannot be assured that the marketplaces through which we distribute our applications will maintain their current structures or that such marketplaces will not charge us fees to list our applications for download.

We rely upon certain third-party software and integrations with certain third-party applications to provide our platform and products and services. As our products expand and evolve, we may use additional third-party software or have an increasing number of integrations with other third-party applications, software, products and services. Third-party applications, software, products and services are constantly evolving, and we may not be able to maintain or modify our platform, including our mobile and web-based applications and our flight management system, to ensure our compatibility with third-party offerings following development changes. Moreover, some of our competitors or technology partners may take actions which disrupt the interoperability of our products or services with their own products or services, or exert strong business influence on our ability to, and the terms on which we may, operate our platform and provide our products and services to customers. In addition, if any of our third-party providers cease to provide access to the third-party software that we use, do not provide access to such software on terms that we believe to be attractive or reasonable, 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 is otherwise unsatisfactory to us, or give preferential treatment to competitive products or services, we may be required to seek comparable software from other sources, which may be more expensive or inferior, or may not be available at all. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We believe that our intellectual property plays an important role in protecting our brand and the competitiveness of our business. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our brand and reputation may be adversely affected, and our ability to compete effectively may be impaired. Volato Group protects its intellectual property through a combination of trademark, copyright, contracts, and policies. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate, and unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or reverse engineer aspects of our intellectual property or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary and, if successful, may potentially cause us to lose market share, harm our ability to compete, and result in reduced revenue. In addition, our business is subject to the risk of third parties infringing our intellectual property. We may not always be successful

in securing protection for, or identifying or stopping infringements of, our intellectual property and we may need to resort to litigation in the future to enforce our rights in this regard. Any such litigation could result in significant costs and a diversion of resources. Further, such enforcement efforts may result in a ruling that our intellectual property rights are unenforceable.

Moreover, companies in the aviation and technology industries are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation, or other violations. As we expand and raise our profile, the likelihood of intellectual property claims being asserted against us grows. Further, we may acquire or introduce new products or services, which may increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims. Any intellectual property claims asserted against us, whether or not having any merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to settle or litigate. If we are unsuccessful in defending a claim, we may be required to pay substantial damages or could be subject to an injunction or agree to a settlement that may prevent us from using our intellectual property or making the Common Stock of Volato Group products or services available to customers. Some intellectual property claims may require us to seek a license to continue our operations, and those licenses may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or may significantly increase our operating expenses. If we are unable to procure a license, we may be required to develop non-infringing technological alternatives, which could require significant time and expense. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or operations.

Maintaining a good reputation globally is important to our business. Our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by, among other things, any failure to maintain high ethical, social, and environmental sustainability practices for all of our operations and activities, our impact on the environment, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, such as movements to institute a “living wage,” customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, customer perceptions of our use of social media, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. In addition, we operate in a highly visible industry that has significant exposure to social media. Negative publicity, including as a result of misconduct by our customers, vendors, or employees, can spread rapidly through social media. Should we not respond in a timely and appropriate manner to address negative publicity, our brand and reputation may be significantly harmed. Damage to our reputation or brand image or loss of customer confidence in our services could adversely affect our business and financial results as well as require additional resources to rebuild or repair our reputation.

We have, and intend to continue, exploring potential strategic acquisitions of assets and businesses, including partnerships or joint ventures with third parties. Our management has limited experience with acquiring and integrating acquired strategic assets and companies into our business, and there is no assurance that any future acquisitions will be successful. We may not be successful in identifying appropriate targets for transactions. In addition, we may not be able to continue the operational success of acquired businesses or successfully finance or integrate any assets or businesses that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture. We may have potential write-offs of acquired assets or an impairment of any goodwill recorded as a result of acquisitions. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations or may result in conflicts with our business. Any acquisition, partnership, or joint venture may reduce our cash reserves, may negatively affect our earnings and financial performance, and, to the extent financed with the proceeds of debt, may increase our indebtedness, and, to the extent acquired or financed through equity issuance, dilute our current investors. We cannot ensure that any acquisition, partnership, or joint venture we make will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Acquisition transactions involve risks, including, but not limited to:

The potential physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, fog, mist, freezing conditions, sea-level rise, and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure, and financial results. Operational impacts, such as the delay or cancellation of flights, could result in loss of revenue. In addition, certain of our operating locations are susceptible to the impacts of storm-related flooding and sea-level rise, which could result in costs and loss of revenue. We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the physical effects of climate change. We are not able to accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change.

In addition, climate change-related regulatory activity and developments may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offsets, or otherwise pay for our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath have negatively impacted the aviation business in general. If additional terrorist attacks are launched against the aviation industry, there will be lasting consequences of the attacks, which may include loss of life, property damage, increased security and insurance costs, increased concerns about future terrorist attacks, increased government regulation, and airport delays due to heightened security. We cannot provide any assurance that these events will not harm the aviation industry generally or our operations or financial condition in particular.

Our internally prepared forecasts were based on numerous variables and assumptions known to us at the time of preparation. Such variables and assumptions are inherently uncertain and many are beyond our control. Important factors that may affect actual results and cause the forecasts to not be achieved include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to our businesses (including our ability to achieve strategic goals, objectives, and targets over applicable periods), industry performance, the competitive environment, changes in technology, general business and economic conditions. Various assumptions underlying the forecasts may prove to not have been, or may no longer be, accurate. The forecasts may not be realized, and actual results may be significantly higher or lower than projected in the forecasts. The forecasts also reflect assumptions as to certain business strategies or plans that are subject to change. As a result, the inclusion of such forecasts in this prospectus should not be relied on as “guidance” or otherwise predictive of actual future events, and actual results may differ materially from the forecasts.

Our operations in the private aviation sector may be subject to risks associated with protests or vandalism targeting private aviation services. These protests or vandalism can lead to disruptions, damage, or loss of our aircraft, impacting our ability to conduct operations smoothly which may negatively impact our results of operations and

financial condition. While, to date, our aircraft have not been affected by protests targeting private aviation, unforeseen circumstances could lead to our aircraft becoming involved in such events. Should our aircraft be affected by protests or related activities, it could result in operational disruptions, damage, or loss, and may adversely affect our reputation, hurt the market for our securities, and decrease demand for our aviation services.

All interstate air carriers, including us, are subject to regulation by the Department of Transportation (the “DOT”), the FAA, and other governmental agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”), and Customs and Border Protection. We cannot predict whether we will be able to comply with all present and future laws, rules, regulations, and certification requirements or that the cost of continued compliance will not have a material adverse effect on our operations. We incur substantial costs in complying with the laws, rules, and regulations to which we are subject. A decision by the FAA to ground, or require time-consuming inspections of or maintenance on, all or any of our aircraft for any reason may have a material adverse effect on our operations. Changes to TSA rules that may result in additional screening or required TSA screening for private flights may have a material adverse change on our operations.

In addition, we are also subject to restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership of U.S. air carriers and oversight by the DOT in maintaining our status as a U.S. Citizen, as that term is defined by the DOT. The restrictions imposed by federal law currently require that no more than 25% of the Common Stock of Volato Group be voted, directly or indirectly, by persons who are not U.S. Citizens, and that our chief executive officer, president, at least two-thirds of our officers, and at least two-thirds of the members of our Board be U.S. Citizens. Additionally, we must be under the actual control of U.S. citizens. A failure to comply with or changes to these restrictions may materially adversely affect our business. These restrictions may limit our ability to accept investment from one or more non-U.S. citizens.

Our business requires a variety of federal, state, and local permits and licenses. Our business depends on the maintenance of these permits and licenses, which may be prohibited or restricted. Our business is subject to regulations and permit requirements and may be adversely affected if we are unable to comply with existing regulations or requirements or if changes in applicable regulations or requirements occur.

The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Many government bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information and breach notification procedures. We are also required to comply with laws, rules, and regulations relating to data security. Interpretation of these laws, rules, and regulations and their application to our software and professional services in applicable jurisdictions is ongoing and cannot be fully determined at this time.

In the United States, these include rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), and other state and federal laws relating to privacy and data security. By way of example, the CCPA requires covered businesses to provide new disclosures to California residents, provide them new ways to opt-out of certain disclosures of personal information, and allows for a new cause of action for data breaches. It includes a framework that includes potential statutory damages and private rights of action. There is some uncertainty as to how the CCPA, and similar privacy laws emerging in other states, could impact our business as it depends on how these laws will be interpreted. As we expand our operations, compliance with privacy laws may increase our operating costs.

From time to time, we may become involved in various legal proceedings relating to matters incidental to the ordinary course of our business, including but not limited to employment, commercial, product liability, class action, whistleblower, and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings.

These matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources, cause us to incur significant expenses or liability, and require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses, and uncertainties of litigation, we may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, we cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We assess contingencies to determine the degree of probability and range of possible loss for potential accrual in our financial statements. We would accrue an estimated loss contingency in our financial statements if it were probable that a liability had been incurred and the amount of the loss could be reasonably estimated. Due to the unpredictable nature of litigation, assessing contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgments about future events. The amount of actual losses may differ from our current assessment. As a result of the costs and expenses of defending ourselves against lawsuits or claims, and risks and consequences of legal actions, regardless of merit, our results of operations and financial position could be adversely affected or cause variability in our results compared to expectations.

We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations, and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment and noise, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges (including storm water discharges) to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water, and the use, management, disposal, and release of, and exposure to, hazardous substances, oils, and waste materials. We are or may be subject to new or proposed laws and regulations that may have a direct effect (or indirect effect through our third-party specialists or airport facilities at which we operate) on our operations. In addition, U.S. airport authorities are exploring ways to limit de-icing fluid discharges. Any changes to existing laws and regulations or the adoption of new laws and regulations could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Similarly, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations that require us to investigate and remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain remediation standards. Under certain laws, generators of waste materials, and current and former owners or operators of facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. Liability under these laws may be strict, joint, and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of fault or the amount of wastes directly attributable to us.

Our aircraft lease agreements may contain provisions that require us to return aircraft airframes and engines to the lessor in a specified condition or pay an amount to the lessor based on the actual return condition of the equipment. These lease return costs are recorded in the period in which they are incurred. Our leased aircraft are maintained under maintenance contracts with relevant suppliers for the leased aircraft. Upon return of a leased aircraft, there is a risk that a maintenance issue will be identified that was not addressed under the applicable maintenance agreements. Any unexpected increase in maintenance return costs may negatively impact our financial position and results of operations.

Our subsidiary Gulf Coast Aviation, Inc. applied for a loan (the “PPP Loan”) under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and received a total of $390,552. Of this amount, $385,540 was awarded prior to our acquisition of such business in March 2022. The PPP Loan is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to loans administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) under the CARES Act, which is subject to revisions and changes by the SBA and Congress. We believe that we satisfied all eligibility criteria for the PPP Loan, and that Gulf Coast Aviation’s receipt of the PPP Loan was consistent with the broad objectives of the PPP of the CARES Act. The PPP Loan was forgiven by the SBA in October 2022. If, despite our good-faith belief that Gulf Coast Aviation satisfied all eligibility requirements for the PPP Loan, Gulf Coast Aviation is later determined to have violated any of the laws or governmental regulations that apply to it in connection with the PPP Loan, or it is otherwise determined that Gulf Coast Aviation was ineligible to receive the PPP Loan, we could be subject to civil, criminal, and administrative penalties or adverse publicity. Any such events could consume significant financial and management resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In accordance with applicable accounting standards, we are required to test our indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently where there is an indication of impairment. In addition, we are required to test certain of our other assets for impairment where there is any indication that an asset may be impaired, such as our market capitalization being less than the book value of our equity.

We may be required to recognize losses in the future due to, among other factors, extreme fuel price volatility, tight credit markets, government regulatory changes, decline in the fair values of certain tangible or intangible assets, unfavorable trends in historical or forecasted results of operations and cash flows, and an uncertain economic environment, as well as other uncertainties.

We can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets will not occur in a future period. The value of our aircraft could also be impacted in future periods by changes in supply and demand for these aircraft. Such changes in supply and demand for certain aircraft types could result from the grounding of aircraft. An impairment loss could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We maintain our cash and cash equivalent balances at financial or other intermediary institutions. The combined account balances at each institution typically exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance coverage of $250,000 per depositor, and, as a result, we face a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. As of December 31, 2021, substantially all of our cash and cash equivalent balances held at financial institutions exceeded FDIC insured limits. Any event that would cause a material portion of our cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions to be uninsured by the FDIC could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In recent years, governments, customers, suppliers, employees, and other of our stakeholders have increasingly focused on climate change, carbon emissions, and energy use. Laws and regulations that curb the use of conventional energy or require the use of renewable fuels or renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar power, could result in a reduction in demand for hydrocarbon-based fuels such as oil and natural gas. In addition, governments could pass laws, regulations, or taxes that increase the cost of such fuels, thereby decreasing demand for our services and also increasing the costs of our operations by our third-party aircraft operators. Other laws or pressure from our stakeholders may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring, or otherwise causing, us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offsets, or otherwise pay for our emissions. This activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs. More stringent environmental laws, regulations, or enforcement policies, as well as motivation to maintain our reputation with our key stakeholders, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our owned and leased fleet is comprised of a limited number of aircraft types, including primarily the HondaJet HA-420. The issuance of FAA or manufacturer directives restricting or prohibiting the use of any one or more of the aircraft types we operate will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We have significant long-term lease and debt financing obligations, and we may incur additional obligations as we expand our aircraft fleet and operations. As of December 31, 2022, all of our aircraft are wholly or majority-owned by third parties and leased to us.

On October 5, 2022, we entered into a Pre-Delivery Payment Agreement (“PDP Agreement”) with a Shearwater Global Capital entity for the financing of PDP Agreement payments on four Gulfstream G280s under four separate purchase agreements executed in March 2022 (“G280 Purchase Agreements”). The PDP Agreement is secured by all of our rights in the G280 Purchase Agreements, all of the reserves under the PDP Agreement, each of the Aircraft, and all present or future additions, attachments, or accessories thereto and replacements thereof, all engines and avionics, all tools, manuals, service records, software, and similar information and materials related to each G280, all payments, amounts, refunds, rebates, and all other amounts of any kind whatsoever relating to any or all of the Purchase Agreements and/or any or all of the aircraft, and the products, proceeds, rents, and profits therefrom or thereof. The PDP Agreement provides for a Twelve and Half Percent (12.5%) interest rate on all PDP Agreement promissory notes (“PDP Notes”) issued by the lender for payments made under the PDP Agreement, for an aggregate principal balance of up to $40.5 million. As of July 21, 2023, there is a balance of $13 million in PDP Notes, with $2.0 million in letters of credit with Chase Bank that are secured with $2.1 million in restricted cash (interest-bearing). Additionally, the Company issued a promissory note to Dennis Liotta in the original principal amount of $1.0 million with a maturity date of March 31, 2024, and an interest rate of Ten Percent (10%).

The ability to timely pay our existing or future contractual obligations, including our long-term lease obligations and required payments under the PDP Notes, will depend on the results of our operations, cash flow, liquidity, and ability to secure additional financing, which will in turn depend on, among other things, the success of our current business strategy, U.S. and global economic and political conditions, the availability and cost of financing, and other factors that may be beyond our control. If our liquidity is materially diminished, our cash flow available to fund our working capital requirements, debt service obligations, capital expenditures, and strategic initiatives may be materially and adversely affected, or we may not be able to realize the benefits of, or otherwise maintain, certain relationships with our business partners. We cannot be assured that our operations will generate sufficient cash flow to make any required payments, or that we will be able to obtain financing to make expenditures in pursuit of our strategic initiatives. The amount of our contractual obligations and timing of required payments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our financing agreements, including those in connection with the PDP Notes and other financing agreements that we may enter into from time to time, contain certain affirmative, negative, and financial covenants, and other customary events of default. Certain covenants in our financing agreements are subject to important exceptions, qualifications, and cure rights, including, under limited circumstances, the requirement to provide additional collateral or prepay or redeem certain obligations. In addition, certain of our financing agreements are or may be cross-collateralized, such that an event of default or acceleration of indebtedness under one agreement could result in an event of default under other financing agreements. If we fail to comply with such covenants, if any other events of default occur for which no waiver or amendment is obtained, or if we are unable to timely refinance the debt obligations subject to such covenants or take other mitigating actions, the holders of our indebtedness could, among other things, declare outstanding amounts immediately due and payable and, subject to the terms of relevant financing agreements, repossess or foreclose on collateral, including certain of our aircraft or other assets used in our business. The acceleration of significant indebtedness or actions to repossess or foreclose on collateral may cause us to renegotiate, repay, or refinance the affected obligations, and there is no assurance that such efforts would be successful or on terms we deem attractive. In addition, any acceleration or actions to repossess or foreclose on collateral under our financing agreements could result in a downgrade of any credit ratings then applicable to us, which could result in additional events of default or limit our ability to obtain additional financing.

As a public company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We continue to refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required

to be disclosed by us in filings with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules, and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officers.

We will continue to refine our internal control over financial reporting. We will be required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with these requirements within the prescribed time period, we have been engaging, and will continue to engage, in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting. This process is both costly and challenging, and requires us to dedicate significant internal resources. We may also engage outside consultants and hire new employees with the requisite skillset and experience. We are developing a plan to assess and document the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. There is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed time period or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, our testing, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal additional deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses.

Any failure to implement and maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, including the identification of one or more material weaknesses, could cause investors to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial statements and reports, which would likely adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock. In addition, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NYSE American, the SEC and other regulatory authorities.

The sale of Common Stock in the public market or otherwise, including sales pursuant to this prospectus, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of our Common Stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. Resales of Common Stock may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Although certain parties named in the Selling Stockholders table herein will be prohibited from transferring any Common Stock (subject to certain exceptions) pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements (as defined herein), the Common Stock may be sold after the expiration or early termination or release of the respective applicable lock-up provisions.

Following the expiration of the applicable lock-ups described above and as restrictions on resale end and registration statements are available for use, the market price of our Common Stock could decline if the holders of restricted or locked up shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. As such, sales of a substantial number of Common Stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of Common Stock.

The Founder Shares were purchased for a price of less than $0.01 per share and BTIG, Roth and LSPH purchased shares for a price equal to $3.52 per share of Common Stock. The shares of Common Stock being offered for resale pursuant to this prospectus by the Selling Stockholders represent approximately 52.4% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding as of February 1, 2024 (assuming the issuance of all 15,226,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Warrants). The sale of all such shares, or the perception that these sales could occur, could result in a significant decline in the public trading price of the shares of Common Stock. Additionally, certain Selling Stockholders, including holders of Founder Shares and shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Warrants, may experience a positive rate of return on the sale of their shares covered by this prospectus, while the public stockholders may not experience a similar rate of return on the securities they purchased due to differences in the purchase prices and the current trading price.

Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of the Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share. We believe the likelihood that the holders will exercise their Warrants, and therefore the amount of cash proceeds that we would receive, is dependent upon the trading price of the Common Stock. If the trading price of the Common Stock is less than the exercise price thereof, we believe the holders are unlikely to exercise their Warrants. Conversely, the holders are more likely to exercise their Warrants the higher the price of the Common Stock is above the exercise price thereof. As of February 1, 2024, the closing price of the Common Stock as reported on the NYSE American was $2.28 per share, which is below the $11.50 exercise price of the Warrants. For so long as the Warrants remain “out-of-the-money,” we do not expect warrant holders to exercise their Warrants. Therefore, any cash proceeds that we may receive in relation to the exercise of such securities is dependent on the trading price of the Common Stock rising above the $11.50 exercise price of the Warrants. There is no guarantee that our Warrants will be in the money prior to their expiration and, as such, our Warrants may expire worthless.

The Warrants were issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants (as defined herein) or Private Warrants, as applicable, to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of the Public Warrants or Private Warrants, as applicable. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants, respectively, approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants, respectively, is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.

We expect our expenditures to continue to be significant in the foreseeable future as we expand our business. Our future capital requirements may be uncertain and actual capital requirements may be different from those currently anticipated, as we look to expand the size of our business, both in terms of fleet size and geographic scope. We may need to seek equity or debt financing to finance a portion of our capital expenditures. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner or on terms that are acceptable, or at all.

Our ability to obtain the necessary financing to carry out our business plan is subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and investor acceptance of our business model. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms and conditions of such financing unattractive or unavailable to us. If we are unable to raise sufficient funds, we may have to significantly reduce our spending, delay or cancel our planned activities or substantially change our corporate structure. We might not be able to obtain any funding, and we might not have sufficient resources to conduct our business as planned, both of which could mean that we would be forced to curtail or discontinue our operations.

In addition, our future capital needs and other business reasons could require us to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain additional borrowing capacity under a credit facility. The sale of additional equity or equity-linked securities could dilute our Stockholders. Moreover, the net proceeds received by us from an offering of equity securities could be reduced if the price of the Common Stock is negatively impacted by a sale of a large number of the shares of Common Stock registered by the Registration Statement. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could subject us to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends to our Stockholders. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Our Certificate of Incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against current or former directors, officers or other employees for breach of fiduciary duty, any

action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware or any other action asserting an “internal corporate claim” (as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL), confer jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware), unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. This provision may limit a Stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us and our directors, officers or other employees and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers and other employees. Furthermore, Stockholders may be subject to increased costs to bring these claims, and the exclusive forum provision could have the effect of discouraging claims or limiting investors’ ability to bring claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable.

In addition, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with one or more actions or proceedings described above, a court could rule that this provision in our Certificate of Incorporation is inapplicable or unenforceable. In March 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a decision in Salzberg, et al. v. Sciabacucchi which found that an exclusive forum provision providing for claims under the Securities Act to be brought in federal court is facially valid under Delaware law. We intend to enforce this provision, but we do not know whether courts in other jurisdictions will agree with this decision or enforce it. If a court were to find the exclusive forum provision contained in our Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team, directors, advisors and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team, directors, advisors and such affiliates is not a guarantee of the future success of our business and operations. You should not rely on the historical performance of our management team, directors and advisors or that of their respective affiliates as indicative of our future performance, of an investment in us, or the returns the Common Stock will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made by the Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness Volato Group or our subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in Common Stock unless you sell your shares of Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

The market price of the Common Stock has been and may continue to be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations depending on a number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the Common Stock. Factors affecting the trading price of the Common Stock may include:

Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of the Common Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The stock markets have, from time to time, experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner often unrelated to the operating performance of those companies. Shareholder activism, which could take many forms or arise in a variety of situations, has been increasing recently. Volatility in the market price of the Common Stock or other reasons may in the future cause us to become the target of securities litigation or shareholder activism. Shareholder activism or securities litigation could give rise to perceived uncertainties regarding the future of our business and it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and adversely affect relationships with suppliers and other parties.

Although we have expended a significant amount of time, money, and effort on preparing to be a public company, our management team has limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and research analysts, and complying with the increasingly complex laws and requirements pertaining to public companies, including those related to timely public disclosures, financial reporting, internal controls, and enterprise risk management. As a result, our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our new and additional roles and responsibilities. Our transition to a public company is subject to significant regulatory oversight, reporting obligations under U.S. securities laws, and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could result in less time being devoted to management and the achievement of our growth strategy and operational goals. Failure to adequately comply with the requirements of being a public company, including deficiencies in financial reporting or ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operation, as well as severely negatively affect the price of the Common Stock of Volato Group.

We will face increased legal, accounting, administrative, and other costs and expenses as a public company that we do not incur as a private company, and these expenses may increase even more after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the requirements of Section 404, as well as rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and the rules and regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), and the securities exchanges and the listing standards of the NYSE American, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with public company requirements will increase costs and make certain activities more time-consuming. A number of those requirements require us to carry out activities we have not done previously. For example, we have created new board committees, entered into new insurance policies, and adopted new internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures.

Furthermore, if any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if management or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting), we could incur additional costs rectifying those issues, the existence of those issues could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of us, and it may be more expensive to obtain director and officer liability insurance. Risks associated with our status as a public company may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on the Board or as executive officers.

In addition, as a public company, we may be subject to stockholder activism, which can lead to substantial costs, distract our management, and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we do not currently anticipate. As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Advocacy efforts by stockholders and third parties may also prompt additional changes in governance and reporting requirements, which could further increase costs. These increased costs require us to divert a significant amount of money that could otherwise be used to expand the business and achieve strategic objectives.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and any rules promulgated thereunder, as well as the rules of the NYSE American. The requirements of these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls for financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight are required and, as a result, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns.

These rules and regulations can also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified independent members of our Board. Additionally, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance. We may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. The increased costs of compliance with public company reporting requirements and our potential failure to satisfy these requirements can have a material adverse effect on our operations, business, financial condition, or results of operations.

As a newly public company, we will need to establish and maintain effective disclosure and financial controls and make changes in our corporate governance practices. We may need to hire additional accounting and financial personnel with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge, and it may be difficult to recruit and retain such personnel. Even if we are able to hire appropriate personnel, our existing operating expenses

and operations will be impacted by the direct costs of their employment and the indirect consequences related to the diversion of management resources from the day-to-day business.

The historical financial information included in this prospectus from our operation as a private company does not necessarily reflect the results of operations and financial position we would have achieved as a publicly traded company during the periods presented, or those that we will achieve in the future. This is primarily because our historical financial information does not reflect changes that we expect to experience in the future as a result of becoming a publicly traded company, including changes in the financing, insurance, cash management, operations, cost structure, and personnel needs of our business. As a publicly traded company, we may be unable to purchase goods, services, and technologies, such as insurance and health care benefits and computer software licenses, or access capital markets, on terms as favorable to us as those we obtained as a private company prior to the Business Combination, and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

We also face additional costs and demands on our time associated with being a publicly traded company, including costs and demands related to corporate governance, investor and public relations, and public reporting. Shareholder activism, the current political and social environment, and the high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which will likely result in additional compliance costs and could impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate. For additional information about our past financial performance, see “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Statements,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our historical Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.

The per share price of our common stock may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities litigation, including class action litigation. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of our management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

Because we became a publicly traded company by means of consummating the Business Combination rather than by means of a traditional underwritten initial public offering, there is no independent third-party underwriter selling the shares of our common stock, and, accordingly, our stockholders will not have the benefit of an independent review and investigation of the type normally performed by an unaffiliated, independent underwriter in a public security offering. Due diligence reviews typically include an independent investigation of the background of the company, any advisors, and their respective affiliates, review of the offering documents and independent analysis of the plan of business and any underlying financial assumptions. Although PACI performed a due diligence review and investigation of Volato in connection with the Business Combination, the lack of an independent due diligence review and investigation increases the risk of investment in us because PACI’s due diligence review and investigation may not have uncovered facts that would be important to a potential investor that may have been uncovered by a third-party investigation.

If we became a public company through an underwritten public offering, the underwriters would be subject to liability under Section 11 of the Securities Act for material misstatements and omissions in the initial public offering registration statement. In general, an underwriter is able to avoid liability under Section 11 if it can prove that it “had, after reasonable investigation, reasonable grounds to believe and did believe, at the time the registration statement became effective, that the statements therein (other than the audited financial statements) were true and that there was no omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.”

The amount of due diligence conducted by PACI and its advisors in connection with the Business Combination may not be as high as would have been undertaken by an underwriter in connection with an initial public offering of Volato. Accordingly, it is possible that defects in our business operations or problems with our management that would have been discovered if we had conducted an underwritten public offering will not be discovered in connection with the Business Combination, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In addition, because we did not become a publicly traded company by means of a traditional underwritten initial public offering, security or industry analysts may not provide, or be less likely to provide, coverage of us. Investment banks may also be less likely to agree to underwrite secondary offerings on behalf of us than they might otherwise be if we had become a publicly traded company by means of a traditional underwritten initial public offering because they may be less familiar with us as a result of more limited coverage by analysts and the media. The failure to receive research coverage or support in the market for our common stock could have an adverse effect on our ability to develop a liquid market for our common stock. The lack of a liquid market for our common stock will adversely affect the stock price.

The price of our securities may vary significantly due to factors specific to us as well as to general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop, or if developed, it may not be sustained. We may be unable to sell our securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

The sale of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

Certain Volato stockholders, including certain existing stockholders of certain classes of Volato stock holding greater than 250,000 shares of our share capital as well as the officers and directors and certain additional management personnel of PACI and Volato, entered into a lock-up agreement (the “Stockholder Lock-up Agreement”) with PACI. Holders of Series A-1 stock, Series A-2 stock, and Series A-3 stock held by any stockholder will not be locked up. Under the terms of the Stockholder Lock-up Agreement, such stockholders, will each agree, subject to certain customary exceptions, that during the period that is the earlier of (i) the date that is 180 days following the Effective Time, and (ii) the date specified in a written waiver of the provisions of the Stockholder Lock-up Agreement duly executed by Sponsor and PACI, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Lock-up Shares, enter into a transaction that would have the same effect, or enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such Lock-up Shares (whether any of these transactions are to be settled by delivery of any such Lock-up Shares, in cash or otherwise), publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or to enter into any transaction, swap, hedge or other arrangement, or engage in any “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 promulgated under Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act, or any type of direct and indirect stock pledges, forward sale contracts, options, puts, calls, swaps and similar arrangements (including on a total return basis), or sales or other transactions through non-US broker dealers or foreign regulated brokers. As used herein, “Lock-up Shares” means, in the case of Volato stockholders, those shares of Class A Common Stock of Volato Group received by such Volato stockholder as merger consideration in the Transactions and beneficially owned by such Volato stockholder as specified on the signature block of the Stockholder Lock-up Agreement.

In the future, Volato Group may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The number of shares of our Common Stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of the then-outstanding shares of our Common Stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.

The trading market for our Common Stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us and our businesses. If equity research analysts do not commence coverage of us, the trading price for our common stock could be negatively impacted. To the extent equity research analysts do provide research coverage of our Common Stock, we will not have any control over the content and opinions included in their reports. The trading price of our Common Stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our securities or publish unfavorable research about our businesses, or if our operating results do not meet analyst expectations. If any equity research analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Common Stock could decrease, which could cause the price and trading volume of our Common Stock to decline.

All of the shares of Common Stock and Private Warrants offered by the Selling Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus will be sold by the Selling Stockholders for their respective accounts. We will not receive any of the proceeds from these sales, other than in connection with a cash exercise of the Private Warrants.

We will receive up to an aggregate of approximately $175.1 million from the exercise of the Private Warrants, assuming the exercise in full of all of such warrants for cash. Each Private Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share. We believe the likelihood that the holders will exercise their Warrants, and therefore the amount of cash proceeds that we would receive, is dependent upon the trading price of the Common Stock. If the trading price of the Common Stock is less than the exercise price thereof, we believe the holders are unlikely to exercise their Private Warrants. Conversely, the holders are more likely to exercise their Private Warrants the higher the price of the Common Stock is above the exercise price thereof. As of February 1, 2024, the closing price of the Common Stock as reported on NYSE American was $2.28 per share, which is below the $11.50 exercise price of the Private Warrants. For so long as the Private Warrants remain “out-of-the-money,” we do not expect warrant holders to exercise their Warrants. See “Risk Factors—There is no guarantee that the exercise price of the Warrants will be less than the trading price of the Common Stock, and they may expire worthless; however, the terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Private Warrants approve of such amendment.”

The Selling Stockholders will pay any underwriting discounts or selling commissions attributable to the securities covered by this prospectus. We will bear the costs and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus, including, but not limited to, all registration and filing fees, fees and expenses of compliance with securities or “blue sky” laws, printing expenses, our internal expenses (including all salaries and expenses of our officers and employees), the fees and expenses incurred in connection with listing the shares of Common Stock and Private Warrants on NYSE American, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fees, and fees and disbursements of our counsel and for our independent certified public accountants.

The Common Stock and Public Warrants are listed on NYSE American under the symbols “SOAR” and “SOAR.WS”, respectively. On February 1, 2024, the closing price of the Common Stock was $2.28 per share and the closing price of the Warrants was $0.15 per warrant. As of February 1, 2024, there were approximately 379 holders of record of Common Stock. Such number does not include beneficial owners holding shares of the Common Stock through nominees.

We have applied to list the Private Warrants on NYSE American.

Neither PACI nor we have paid any cash dividends on the PACI Common Stock or the Common Stock, respectively. We currently intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Our ability to pay dividends on the Common Stock could be restricted by the terms of any agreement governing other indebtedness we may incur. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of the Board, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant.

The 2023 Plan was approved at the November 28, 2023 special meeting of PACI stockholders held, in part, to ask such stockholders to vote on a proposal to approve the Business Combination (the “PACI Special Meeting”). In accordance with the 2023 Plan, we have reserved 5,608,690 shares of Common Stock for issuance pursuant to future awards under the 2023 Plan and 2,350,960 shares of Common Stock for issuance pursuant to outstanding option awards under the 2021 Plan. On February 5, 2024, we filed a registration on Form S-8 (File No. 333-276874) to register the shares pursuant to future awards under the 2023 Plan and the shares of Common Stock for issuance pursuant to outstanding option awards under the 2021 Plan. See “Executive Compensation.”

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to the “Combined Company” refer to Volato Group, Inc., or PACI, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries after giving effect to the Transactions.

In October and November 2023, Volato raised an additional $12.2 million of equity capital, respectively, which was on the same terms as the prior issuance of the $10 million Volato Series A-1 Preferred Shares in July 2023. The pro forma condensed combined financial information as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, has been adjusted for the relevant transaction. On November 28, 2023, in conjunction with the Business Combination, PACI and Volato entered into an Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction with Vellar Opportunities Fund Master, Ltd. (“Vellar”). The accounting for the forward purchase agreement derivative liability, and the final fair value, are still under evaluation and have not been included in the proforma financials.

The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements of PACI present the combination of the historical financial information of PACI and Volato adjusted to give effect for the Business Combination between PACI and Volato. The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of September 30, 2023, combines the historical balance sheet of PACI and the historical balance sheet of Volato, on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination had been consummated on September 30, 2023. Including the $12.2 million of capital raised in October and November 2023.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, combines the historical statements of operations of PACI and Volato for such period on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination had been consummated on January 1, 2022, the beginning of the earliest period presented.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022, combines the historical statements of operations of PACI and Volato for such period on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination had been consummated on January 1, 2022, the beginning of the earliest period presented.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been developed from and should be read in conjunction with:

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been presented for illustrative purposes only and does not necessarily reflect what PACI’s financial condition or results of operations would have been had the Business Combination occurred on the dates indicated, nor are they indicative of the future consolidated results of operations or financial position of the combined company.

The Business Combination between PACI and Volato is expected to be accounted for as a reverse recapitalization with Volato as the accounting acquirer. In accordance with this method of accounting, the Business Combination will be treated as the equivalent of Volato issuing shares for the net assets of PACI, accompanied by

a recapitalization. The net assets of Volato will be stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, and operations prior to the Business Combination will be those of Volato.

On November 28, 2023, PACI, Volato and Vellar Opportunities Fund Master, Ltd. (“Seller”), entered into an agreement (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”) for an OTC Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction (the “Forward Purchase Transaction”). For purposes of the Forward Purchase Agreement, PACI is referred to as the “Counterparty” prior to the closing of PACI’s previously announced Business Combination with Volato (the “Closing”), while Volato is referred to as the “Counterparty” after the Closing. Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Forward Purchase Agreement.

Pursuant to the terms of the Forward Purchase Agreement, the Seller intends, but is not obligated, to purchase prior to the Closing up to 2.0 million shares (the “Maximum Number of Shares”) of PACI from third parties through a broker in the open market. The Number of Shares subject to a Forward Purchase Agreement is subject to reduction following a termination of the Forward Purchase Agreement with respect to such shares as described under “Optional Early Termination” in the respective Forward Purchase Agreement.

The Forward Purchase Agreement provides that the Seller will be paid directly an aggregate cash amount (the “Prepayment Amount”) equal to the product of (i) the Number of Shares as set forth in the Pricing Date Notice and (ii) the redemption price paid by PACI on the Closing Date to holders of its common stock who exercised their redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination (the “Initial Price”).

The Counterparty will pay to the Seller the Prepayment Amount required under the Forward Purchase Agreement directly from the Counterparty’s Trust Account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company holding the net proceeds of the sale of the units in PACI’s initial public offering and the sale of private placement units (the “Trust Account”) no later than the earlier of (a) one business day after the Closing Date and (b) the date any assets from the Trust Account are disbursed in connection with the Business Combination.

From time to time and on any date following the Business Combination (any such date, an “OET Date”), the Seller may, in its absolute discretion, terminate the Forward Purchase Agreement in whole or in part by providing written notice to the Counterparty (the “OET Notice”) that specifies the quantity by which the Number of Shares shall be reduced (such quantity, the “Terminated Shares”). The effect of an OET Notice shall be to reduce the Number of Shares by the number of Terminated Shares specified in such OET Notice with effect as of the related OET Date. As of each OET Date, the Counterparty shall be entitled to an amount from the Seller, and the Seller shall pay to the Counterparty an amount, equal to the product of (x) the number of Terminated Shares and (y) the Reset Price in respect of such OET Date. The Reset Price will initially be the Initial Price, but is subject to reduction upon a Dilutive Offering Reset.

The valuation date (the “Valuation Date”) for the Forward Purchase Agreement will be the earliest to occur of (a) the date that is 24 months after the Closing Date, (b) the date specified by Seller in a written notice to be delivered to the Counterparty at Seller’s discretion (which Valuation Date shall not be earlier than the day such notice is effective) after the occurrence of any of (w) a VWAP Trigger Event, (x) a Delisting Event, or (y) a Registration Failure and (c) the date specified by Seller in a written notice to be delivered to Counterparty at Seller’s sole discretion (which Valuation Date shall not be earlier than the day such notice is effective).

On the Cash Settlement Payment Date, which is the 70th trading day immediately following the Maturity Date (as defined in the Forward Purchase Agreement), if the Valuation Date is determined by Seller in its sole discretion as described in clause (c) of the foregoing paragraph, Seller shall pay Counterparty a cash amount equal to (1) the Number of Shares as of the Valuation Date multiplied by (2) the closing price of the Shares on the business day immediately preceding the Valuation Date.

In all other cases, Seller shall pay Counterparty a cash amount equal to (1) the Number of Shares as of the Valuation Date, which are registered for resale under an effective Registration Statement or may be transferred without any restrictions, including the requirement for the Counterparty to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144(c)(1) (or Rule 144(i)(2), if applicable) or the volume and manner of sale limitations under Rule 144(e), (f) and (g) under the Securities Act, multiplied by the VWAP Price over the Valuation Period less (2) the Settlement Amount Adjustment.

The Settlement Amount Adjustment is equal to the product of (1) (a) the Maximum Number of Shares less (b) any Terminated Shares as of the Valuation Date, multiplied by (2) $1.50.

Seller has agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to any Recycled Shares in connection with the Business Combination. Such waiver may reduce the number of shares of PACI Class A Common Stock redeemed in connection with the Business Combination, and such reduction could alter the perception of the potential strength of the Business Combination. Similarly, Seller has agreed not to vote the shares it purchases pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement in favor of the Business Combination. The Forward Purchase Agreement has been structured, and all activity in connection with such agreement has been undertaken, to comply with the requirements of all tender offer regulations applicable to the Business Combination, including Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

The shares purchased by Seller pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement has the impact of reducing the number of redemptions in connection with the shareholder vote to approve the Business Combination, which could alter the perception of the potential strength of the Business Combination.

PACI has entered into the Business Combination Agreement with Volato and certain other entities. The base purchase price is $190 million, subject to certain adjustments, which will be paid in Class A Common Stock of PACI. The number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued by PACI for each outstanding share of Volato common stock on an as-converted basis is subject to an exchange ratio. The exchange ratio is determined by dividing (i) the sum of (a) the base purchase price, (b) the exercise value of Volato’s outstanding in-the-money options, and (c) the aggregate amount of Series A Preferred Stock issued in the Private Financing by (ii) the sum of (x) the total number of shares of Volato common stock outstanding on an as converted basis) divided by 10 and (y) the number of shares of Volato common stock issuable upon the exercise of Volato’s outstanding in-the-money options.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information was prepared in accordance with Article 11 of SEC Regulation S-X as amended by the final rule, Release No. 33-10786 “Amendments to Financial Disclosures about Acquired and Disposed Businesses.” The historical financial information of PACI and Volato include transaction accounting adjustments to illustrate the estimated effect of the Business Combination and certain other adjustments to provide relevant information necessary for an understanding of PACI upon consummation of the Business Combination described herein.

In October and November 2023, Volato raised an additional $12.2 million in cash of equity capital and was on the same terms as the prior issuance of the $10 million Volato Series A-1 Preferred Shares.

The pro forma condensed combined financial information as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, and for the year ended December 31, 2022, have been adjusted for these material transactions.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not reflect the income tax effects of the transaction accounting adjustments as any change in the deferred tax balance would be offset by an increase in the valuation allowance given the companies’ incurred losses during the historical periods presented.

The transaction accounting adjustments included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of September 30, 2023, are as follows, after giving effect to the Volato capital raises on December 1, 2023 of $12.2 million.

The forward purchase agreement asset will be remeasured at fair value with changes in earnings in the future periods. The accounting for the forward purchase agreement asset and the final fair value, are still under evaluation and may be subject to change.

The difference between the Prepayment Amount and fair value of the forward purchase agreement asset is recognized through accumulated losses as one-time charge reflecting the cost of entering into the forward purchase agreement.

The transaction accounting adjustments included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 are as follows:

The transaction accounting adjustments included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 are as follows:

We are a private aviation company founded in January 2021. That year, we entered the private jet charter and fractional ownership market with our Part 135 HondaJet ownership program, taking delivery of our first jet in August 2021 and completing our first Part 135 charter flight in October of 2021. The HondaJet is manufactured by Honda Aircraft Company (“Honda”). We took delivery of three HondaJets in 2021. In 2022, we continued to build our fleet of HondaJets. In March 2022, we acquired Gulf Coast Aviation, Inc., owner of G C Aviation, Inc., a Texas entity and Part 135 air carrier certificate holder. This acquisition added personnel and facilities to support managed aircraft, sales, maintenance, and other operational functions. Also in March 2022, we placed orders for four Gulfstream G280s for delivery in 2024. In August of 2022, we launched the Volato Stretch jet card, a differentiated jet card product that provides flight credits for customer itinerary flexibility. In December of 2022, we signed a letter of intent for a multi-year fleet purchase of HondaJets with Honda. In January 2023, we launched our automated dynamic pricing tool for the general charter market. In March of 2023, we introduced the Insider Program, a deposit program for our charter services featuring HondaJet pricing caps in certain geographical areas. In May 2023, we and Honda executed a firm order for 23 HondaJets to be delivered in 2023 through 2025.

Our mission is to empower people to live their best lives while creating more time for the rest of their lives by providing convenient and high-quality travel services. Through our focus on the development of proprietary technology and evolution of aircraft ownership and use models, combined with our commitment to an exceptional customer experience using the “Right Aircraft for the Mission,” we are able to achieve a more efficient private jet experience, without sacrificing luxury.

We are creating a culture of service, not just limited to interactions with our customers. Our senior leadership team has implemented a structured management training program based on the Scaling Up framework and informed by our core values. Our culture focuses on five core values:

The private aviation industry is large, resilient and growing. In 2022, private aviation was a $29.0 billion-dollar market globally, and was forecasted to grow to $38.0 billion in 2029⁴. Private aviation has traditionally served high net worth individuals and corporate customers, flying on a combination of owned and chartered aircraft. In the United States, the market for private aircraft sales and charter totaled $25.1 billion in 2021⁵. However, aircraft sales and private charter services are distinct markets, and our programs are designed to address both. We sell aircraft to participants in our aircraft ownership program, and those aircraft are leased back to our air carrier subsidiary for providing charter to both owners and the general charter market. In this way, we build our fleet, and owners enjoy charter access to that fleet, rather than just the owners’ individual aircraft. These are standard features of a functional aircraft program. Uniquely, our aircraft ownership program provides revenue share and guaranteed availability to owners, coupled with higher utilization and efficiency rates.

The following factors are driving growth across the private aviation industry:

We are committed to prioritizing the satisfaction of our customers in an efficient and sustainable manner. We strive to achieve this by utilizing innovative business models and technology to deliver a service that maximizes fleet utilization and profitability and improves customer satisfaction.

Our private aviation offerings are designed with the goal of delivering exceptional value to our customers. We achieve this by employing a strategy with objective and measurable performance metrics.

One of our key strategies is the “Right Plane for Right Mission” approach. We have developed a core fleet of HondaJets that covers what management believes is the majority of private aviation missions in the markets in which we serve. These missions generally involve up to four passengers and distances of less than 1,000 nautical miles. We believe the HondaJet provides a best-in-class cabin experience, while also maintaining competitive operating costs. We also place great importance on developing strong, positive relationships with Honda.

The following are certain benefits of the HondaJet that we believe makes it the ideal aircraft for our fleet:

We believe in maintaining an alignment of economic interests with our aircraft owners. Through our program’s unique revenue sharing feature, we empower aircraft owners to share in eligible revenue generated from charter flights on their aircraft while maintaining preferred-rate access for their own flights on our fleet. This, together with our proprietary software, allows us the flexibility needed to maximize fleet utilization.

To further maximize fleet utilization, we have developed a suite of products that target underserved market segments. This commercial approach to fleet utilization allows us to offer a more comprehensive range of services to our customers, while also increasing our profitability.

Our business model has three main components: 1) our unique aircraft sale and ownership program, 2) our aircraft management services, and 3) our revenue from charter flights which includes owner flights, deposit product flights, and wholesale/retail charter flights. The aircraft ownership program is an asset-lite model whereby we sell each fleet aircraft to a limited liability company. The LLC, owned by third-party owners, leases the aircraft back to us for management and charter operation on behalf of the LLC under 14 C.F.R. Part 135. Each program participant separately contracts with us for charter on our HondaJet fleet on preferred terms, generally including a set monthly management fee and preferred charter rates. For our second business model component, we provide aircraft management services to existing aircraft owners and help them monetize their aircraft through third-party charter activities. Finally, our commercial services generate demand for both the aircraft ownership program fleet and managed aircraft fleet through the operation of retail deposit programs and retail charter as well as wholesale charter through brokers.

Traditional fractional private aviation programs have typically been operated under 14 C.F.R. Subpart 91K, where fractional owners receive a block of entitled hours relative to the size of their fractional interest in the aircraft. An industry standard assumes 800 occupied flight hours is equal to a full interest, meaning a 1/8th share would be recommended for an owner looking at 100 hours of annual usage.

We believe there are several disadvantages with this traditional model that can negatively impact the fractional owner:

Our solution provides an innovative and more financially viable model. Our program is a more versatile and operationally efficient version of aircraft ownership that provides key benefits of full aircraft ownership to the program participants. The program was designed to be more financially efficient by focusing on maximizing aircraft flight utilization while better aligning the interests of aircraft owners and us. The program participants are building our fleet, secured on a long-term basis at a lower cost of capital than leasing or acquiring aircraft, with lower risk, as we only pay revenue share based on usage rather than a flat monthly rate. Our revenue share payments to the LLCs that own the aircraft may reduce the pressure fractional owners often feel to fly a certain number of hours in a contract year. As a result, we may generate additional capacity on the fleet for non-owner flights.

Together with the benefits of HondaJets, we are focused on bringing efficiencies to the private aviation market, eliminating unnecessary and expensive unused capacity from private flights.

The traditional route to cost reduction in private aviation has been either single-pilot operations or deploying turboprop aircraft instead of jets. These methods are logical; single-pilot operations save on personnel costs, and turboprop aircraft are cheaper to operate. However, both measures have inherent downsides. Single-pilot operations have safety implications due to increased pilot workload, while turboprops are generally slower and noisier than jet aircraft.

Recognizing the gap in the market for an economically efficient but uncompromised private jet experience, we have not adopted these conventional cost-cutting measures. Instead, we are focusing on building a fleet of jet aircraft that meets the needs of our customers and is properly gauged for the majority of private aviation flights in the markets we serve.

The above concepts were central when considering and selecting aircraft for our fleet and unique business model. Our fleet is primarily composed of the HondaJet HA-420, a jet in the Very Light Jet market segment, that is best suited for flights of four or fewer passengers and under three hours or 1,000 nautical miles. Compared to the Phenom 300, we believe the HondaJet offers multiple advantages:

Our Aircraft Ownership Program has 3 revenue streams that are long-term (5-year contract), recurring in nature and predictable, which together provide a high level of revenue visibility for the business.

We are developing commercial capabilities in the light jet market segment with our HondaJet fleet through a multi-channel, segmented product and pricing approach.

Under our ownership program, owners have guaranteed availability to our aircraft on an unlimited basis. When owners are not flying, we have an opportunity to sell capacity that would otherwise remain unused as charter flights (“Charter”), which is a non-guaranteed availability offering. At all times, we maintain operational control over our aircraft (i.e., we assign aircraft to and accept flights at our discretion), without requiring any aircraft owner approval. This provides us the ability to schedule flights efficiently.

We take advantage of this Charter opportunity with dynamic pricing offered through a variety of options available simultaneously to our flight deposit program and general retail and wholesale customers. We use a proprietary pricing tool to adjust pricing for any given flight based on factors such as forecasted demand, available aircraft, and booking date. In contrast, it is typical in private aviation for pricing to be set at fixed hourly rates that do not vary.

Through inventory management and pricing practices, we can offer Charter customers access to our fleet, depending upon demand and other criteria we set. While we do not guarantee availability for any Charter customer at any time, we also do not require any long-term commitment or block access to our fleet during peak demand periods.

All of the revenue described below in revenue streams from fleet optimization is included in “charter flight revenue” in Volato Group’s MD&A.

We have created a complementary set of products with differentiable attributes beyond price. For the HondaJet floating fleet, our service network for all Charter services is presently focused on domestic operations with limited access to Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Pricing for flight services on all Charter quotes, though determined dynamically, is fixed at the time of quoting.

We introduced a deposit-based program in March 2023 to reduce the inefficiencies of booking and paying on a trip-by-trip basis while rewarding larger deposit customers with capped rates for HondaJet flights in certain geographical zones. Deposit customers pay the lower of the then-current general charter rate or the capped rate. Larger deposits in the program receive capped pricing in larger geographical zones. Insider deposit customers have preferred access for charter requests over general charter, and the program is fully refundable for any unused balances during the term of the agreement, but are not refundable after the term of the agreement, except any incentive credits customers may have received.

Launched in 2022, the Volato Stretch jet card is designed for price-conscious customers with high schedule flexibility. We may make changes to itineraries under this program and compensates customers for eligible changes with non-cash credits towards future flights. Unused balances may be refunded during the term of the agreement, but are not refundable after the term of the agreement; incentive credits are not refundable.

Charter currently comprises approximately 40% of our revenue flight hours. However, our strategy is to build our deposit program customer base, and reduce general Charter. General Charter helps us increase our fleet utilization by filling in capacity remaining after aircraft ownership program or deposit program customer flights. To improve our general Charter capabilities, we are working on proprietary software to improve our quoting, pricing, and scheduling processes. These capabilities are designed to improve the customer booking experience and increase the speed of transactions.

Volato Aircraft Management Services (the “Volato AMS”) is a full-service management and charter operator line of business within Volato Group. Under Volato AMS, owner aircraft are managed by and leased to Volato Group for both owner flights and third-party charter flights under our FAA Air Carrier Certificate, or managed by us for the owner’s exclusive use. The benefits to the wider organization of the Volato AMS division include having additional aircraft which can be used by us for occasional charter capacity and for last-minute relief flights when our charter fleet planes become unavailable for scheduled flights. Some aircraft also provide additional capabilities such as larger cabin and range. By increasing the total aircraft available to us for Charter, Volato AMS also helps unlock economies of scale to the benefit of Volato Group and its aircraft ownership program participants.

The Volato AMS managed fleet includes a range of different aircraft that were primarily inherited as part of the Gulf Coast Aviation acquisition in March 2021. Going forward the key focus is airframes which are part of our core fleet, currently HondaJets.

Volato AMS currently manages six aircraft on the FAA Air Carrier Certificate and one airplane is managed solely for owner use and is not on the Certificate.

The two sources of revenue are aircraft management fees and Charter revenue sharing. Aircraft management fees which are included in aircraft management revenue in our MD&A are paid by aircraft owners to Volato AMS and include all operating expenses for the aircraft: maintenance, crew hiring and management, flight operations, dispatch, hangar, fuel, cleaning, insurance, and aircraft Charter marketing. Volato AMS typically receives 15% of the revenue per Charter trip and revenue from these charter trips are included in “charter flight revenue” in our MD&A.

Following a thorough examination of off-the-shelf flight management systems, we identified that none could fully meet our current and projected needs. Consequently, in September 2022, we made the decision to develop a custom flight management and marketing platform to meet our specific requirements.

Our cloud-based software, Mission Control, is a modern, API-first solution for the management of our business. Mission Control provides a wide range of features, including Avinode data integration and synchronization, an internal/external-facing Charter pricing tool, and a Broker Rewards program, a voluntary program through which we pay a commission to third-party individual Charter brokers for eligible flights purchased through the brokers. Our software also offers an Empty Leg Marketing module, which provides daily deals to customers, increasing their opportunities to save on Charter flights.

Mission Control's reporting dashboards provide real-time insights into daily Charter sales, fleet performance, and select key performance indicators (“KPIs”). The platform's crew and aircraft scheduling tools enable the management of aircraft ownership, monthly flight hours, and owner flight activity. The fleet map feature provides an interactive display of our entire fleet, allowing us to track aircraft locations in real-time via an ADS-B data provider.

Our Aircraft Owner Database feature includes a customer relations management tool, meet and greet alerts, an auto-generated weekly email newsletter, and automated billing and invoicing functionality. The platform's Customer Flight Reviews feature, which includes Net Promotor Score metrics, allows us to collect valuable feedback from customers and make informed business decisions.

Our software solution improves transparency, operational efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it enhances our financial performance, by streamlining our flight management processes and reducing manual workloads.

Real-time updates to KPI dashboards and alert notifications, delivered over multiple communication channels and through multiple visualizations enable swift decision-making and greater oversight across our operations.

One of our core aims is to improve customer satisfaction by enabling real-time interactions across our entire enterprise. Our platform enables greater transparency and visibility for our customers with the opportunity to follow their journey and receive updates at every stage. This enables us to reduce customer complaints, boost retention rates, and enhance our reputation in the market.

Figure: Enhancing transparency by sending an automated weekly email to aircraft ownership program participants about their asset’s performance over time.

Figure: Volato Mission Control Aircraft Dashboard

Additionally, our proprietary software solutions enhances marketing capabilities by exposing features of the platform to potential customers, including charter brokers and retail customers which we believe will increase charter sales and create greater brand exposure.

Figure: Our proprietary instant-pricing system and e-signature platform reduces overhead while providing customers with improved service.

Currently, our reservation/flight operation team enters flight reservations, schedules, invoices, and quotes into a third-party system. This data is, in turn, imported into Volato Mission Control in near-real time.

Figure: Mission Control Flight Scheduling

With Mission Control, we have access to a sophisticated tool for managing our business, providing real-time access to essential data, streamlining operations, and enhancing the customer experience. Our software is designed to drive our productivity, resulting in reduced costs, and increased operational efficiency and revenue.

As a growing company, we have an opportunity to build an aviation company for tomorrow. Our business model, fleet, people, and culture have all been influenced by our awareness of our social impact and place as a good corporate citizen in our community.

We prioritize environmental responsibility and operate a fleet of efficient aircraft. Lower fuel burn and operating costs are a key selection criterion in evaluating prospective airframes for our fleet. Aircraft that match these criteria, in addition to being financially efficient, reduce the carbon footprint. We believe that sustainability is a critical aspect of our business and offset 100% of the CO2 generated by our HondaJet core fleet’s flight operations (which excludes any HondaJets that are managed by us) through our participation in the 4AIR offset program by purchasing carbon offsets for all fuel used by the fleet; however, we cannot provide assurance that such 4AIR offset program will achieve its stated goal. Although we do not perform any independent monitoring, 4AIR’s carbon offset program is quantified and verified by several leading carbon offset registries which issue serial numbers to us for each retirement of the carbon offset. Through this offset program, we are actively taking steps to reduce our impact on the environment.

We also strongly believe in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace that values and celebrates all employees. We recognize the importance of promoting diversity in the aviation industry, and as of 15 April 2023, we actively support organizations such as Women in Aviation, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, National Gay Pilots Association, Latino Pilots Association, Professional Asian Pilots Association, and the U.S. Military.

We invest in our employees and provide a range of competitive benefits. We offer comprehensive healthcare including dental and vision, a matching 401k program, paid time off, life insurance, and short-term disability. We invest in our team through training and mentorship.

Our commitment to sustainability and diversity is just one aspect of our overall mission to provide the best possible experience for our customers. By prioritizing the needs of our employees, we are able to create a positive

and welcoming environment that translates into an exceptional aviation experience for all our clients. We are dedicated to setting high standards and providing our customers with a truly exceptional experience.

Within our organization, we have a dedicated Flight Operations team that is responsible for the safety and efficiency of our aviation operations. This team is comprised of various sub-teams, including our Safety team, Operations Control Center (OCC), Experience Concierge (EC), maintenance team, aircraft management team, and training team.

Our safety team is tasked with implementing and maintaining our safety standards in all aspects of our operations. They continuously monitor and evaluate our safety protocols, with an emphasis on applying industry best practices and regulatory compliance.

The OCC team is responsible for overseeing and managing our daily operations. They monitor flights, manage schedules, and make real-time decisions to support flight operations.

Our EC team focuses on providing our aircraft ownership program, jet card, and charter deposit program customers with a first-class travel experience. They work closely with these customers to understand their needs and preferences, and EC’s goal is to deliver seamless and enjoyable travel experiences. Volato’s hospitality-oriented Experience Concierge account management team is central to our focus on Customer Experience (CX). This is the reason why our HondaJet fleet aircraft have the tail signifier of “CX”.

The maintenance team is responsible for maintaining the airworthiness of our aircraft. They conduct regular inspections, repairs, and maintenance to keep our aircraft in condition and meeting required safety standards. They also work with our maintenance program vendors to schedule third-party maintenance.

Our aircraft management team is responsible for overseeing the overall management and operations of our aircraft fleet. They work closely with our maintenance team to keep our aircraft ready to operate on schedule.

Finally, our training team is responsible for training our pilots and other staff members. They also continuously monitor and evaluate our training programs.

Our Flight Operations staff is located in numerous states in the U.S., including locations in all continental time zones. While many of our employees work remote-first, we have concentrated groups of personnel in the Houston, Texas and Saint Augustine, Florida areas. Our pilots are not “home-based” like traditional airlines/fractional jet operators, allowing them to work from any U.S. state and travel to their assigned aircraft at the start of their scheduled work rotation. This approach provides significant advantages over legacy physical operations centers, as it allows us to operate more efficiently and effectively and increase recruiting opportunities, while also reducing our environmental footprint.

We provide our passenger air carrier services through G C Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Volato, a wholly-owned subsidiary and Part 135 certificate entity. G C Aviation is our exclusive Part 135 operator and provides flight services, aircraft management, private aircraft charter services, and maintenance support.

At Volato Group, we pride ourselves on our commitment to safety. We believe that safety is not only a fundamental aspect of our organizational culture, but also a cornerstone of the aviation industry. As such, we view compliance with the FAA regulations as merely the baseline for our safety commitment.

To further reinforce our dedication to safety, we have gone above and beyond the minimum FAA requirements by establishing higher safety standards across a range of critical areas such as pilot experience, certification, training, and safety programs. We have implemented Safety Management Systems (SMS) for our air carrier subsidiary that surpasses the FAA regulatory requirements.

Our SMS is a valuable tool for identifying potential hazards, assessing and mitigating risks associated with those hazards, collecting safety data and, most importantly, acting on that data to improve operations. The SMS is managed by our Director of Safety.

One of the key components of our SMS is the Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT), which is used on every flight operated by Volato Group to quantify the flight’s level of risk. Every flight has some level of risk, so the FRAT is important to help distinguish, in advance, between a lower-risk flight and a higher-risk flight. Once identified, higher-risk flights can be assessed for potential mitigation.

Aside from our internal safety management efforts, we are also proud voluntary participants in audits from various third-party safety organizations, including ARGUS and IS-BAO. These audits provide us with an opportunity to have external experts review and enhance to the continuous improvement of our SMS.

We believe that our commitment to safety is the cornerstone of our organizational culture. Through our Safety Management Systems and voluntary participation in third-party safety audits, we remain committed to all aspects of safety across our operation.

All of our commercial passenger flights are operated with two trained and qualified pilots. Our pilot requirements exceed the FAA’s requirements and training criteria outlined in the Federal Aviation Regulations. Each of our pilots is required to hold an appropriate FAA-required FAA pilot certificate and FAA medical certificate, as well as the necessary type rating for the aircraft they will be flying.

In addition to meeting these essential requirements, our pilot selection process also includes a comprehensive screening process that considers a candidate's professional background, customer service skills, and safety record. This process includes both technical and customer service interviews, allowing us to identify candidates who possess the necessary skills and traits to provide our customers with a superior travel experience.

Once selected, our pilots undergo mandatory advanced aircraft ground and flight training in a full-motion simulator, as well as recurrent training on the relevant aircraft. Through this comprehensive training regimen, our pilots are prepared to handle a challenging situation that may arise during a flight.

As an aviation company, safety is our utmost priority. We have established a maintenance program that covers all types of maintenance and repairs that occur on different schedules. This includes line maintenance, which involves scheduled maintenance inspections, routine repairs, and unscheduled items as needed. Additionally, we perform scheduled airframe maintenance inspections and engine overhauls at appropriate intervals for any given airframe or engine. Our fleet maintenance is scheduled to prioritize the least disruption and downtime, ending mission proximity to service center, and compliance with maintenance program requirements. We also conduct unscheduled and “airplane on ground” (“AOG”) repairs as necessary, and as soon as possible, to return the aircraft to service in a timely fashion.

We have two maintenance facilities, one located in St. Augustine, FL and one in Houston, TX. We use third-party maintenance providers to perform substantially all scheduled maintenance work.

We have contracts with airframe manufacturers to provide parts and maintenance labor for our aircraft at pre-negotiated pricing and rates. Additionally, we have agreements with select airframe and engine manufacturers whereby they provide maintenance services for various aircraft on our certificate. These services are primarily focused on scheduled airframe maintenance inspections, engine inspections, and engine overhauls, in exchange for an hourly rate per flight hour or engine cycle charge.

Furthermore, we have pricing agreements with various fuel providers across the United States, which provide us with pre-negotiated pricing for fuel, as well as handling and facility fees at each location.

We have entered into agreements with a well-known third-party supplier for factory-authorized pilot training, which includes fixed price training slots throughout the year for both initial and recurrent pilot training.

The subsequent paragraphs provide a brief overview of the roles of some of the most notable domestic regulators relevant to our business operations. It is important to note that this summary is not intended to be comprehensive, as it does not encompass every regulator or rule governed by these regulators.

The Department of Transportation (“DOT”) serves as the primary regulator of economic matters within the aviation industry. Specifically, with respect to our business operations, DOT oversees our subsidiary that operates as an air taxi under Part 298 (14 C.F.R. Part 298, referred to herein as “Part 298”). This includes the economic authority to conduct business as a type of air carrier, as well as consumer protection and insurance requirements applicable to such business.

Furthermore, DOT regulates our advertising and service offering under Part 295 (14 C.F.R. Part 295, referred to herein as “Part 295”). As a statutorily-defined “ticket agent” and “air charter broker” under Part 295, we are subject to DOT jurisdiction in offering and selling our charter programs and in arranging flights on behalf of our customers. In all aspects of our business operations that fall under DOT's purview, we are obligated to comply with its statutory and regulatory authorities to prevent and redress “unfair” or “deceptive” practices. We are also subject to DOT's consumer protection regulations, which cover various areas, such as data reporting, recordkeeping, advertising, ticket sales, and ensuring equal access to air transportation for disabled passengers.

Additionally, DOT enforces U.S. laws governing the citizenship of air carriers. This includes requirements that air carriers be under the actual control by U.S. citizens and satisfying certain other criteria, including having a U.S. citizen as our president/chief executive officer and at least two-thirds of our Board, and other managing officers must be U.S. citizens, and that at least seventy-five percent of our voting stock must be owned and controlled, directly and indirectly, by U.S. citizens. The amount of non-voting stock that may be owned or controlled by non-U.S. citizens is limited as well.

The FAA is the primary governing body responsible for overseeing safety matters in the aviation industry. Its regulatory framework encompasses various facets of civil aviation, including the design and manufacture of aircraft and their components, inspection, maintenance, repair and registration of aircraft, as well as the training, licensing, and performance of duties by pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance technicians. The FAA also regulates safety-sensitive personnel for prohibited drug use or alcohol consumption, and oversees the design, construction, and maintenance of runways and airport facilities. Furthermore, the FAA is tasked with managing air traffic control systems and the complex air traffic at busy airport facilities. It certifies and monitors air carriers, establishes Safety Management Systems, promotes voluntary data disclosure systems that aid in enhancing safety, and oversees and controls the operations of air carriers by their accountable managers, directors of operations, and directors of maintenance, among other key personnel.

The FAA's regulatory framework is comprised of several parts found in Title 14 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. For instance, Part 91 contains the general rules for flight safety, while Part 135 contains additional rules that apply to commercial on-demand operations. In the event of a security threat, environmental risk, or other emergency, the FAA holds the power to shut down segments of airspace or even the entire U.S. airspace to civilian use, as demonstrated on September 11, 2001.

As an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) is the primary regulatory body responsible for security matters in the aviation industry. The TSA's oversight extends to standard security programs in use by U.S. airports and air carriers, which cover areas such as flight crew training, passenger identity and screening, security watchlists, and cooperation in threat assessments and responses.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), also an agency of DHS, plays a crucial role as the primary regulator of customs, immigration, and public health matters affecting the aviation industry. Whenever our air carrier operations involve international flight segments, we are required to provide CBP with advanced disclosure of passenger information, facilitate the inspection of baggage, including prohibited substances or invasive species of plants or animals, and ensure proper disposal of any foreign-originating refuse on the aircraft.

The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is the primary federal environmental regulator, responsible for promulgating new rules relating to greenhouse emissions from carbon fuels used in aircraft engines in January 2021. These rules are expected to bring about changes in future aircraft engine designs and approvals, leading to a turnover in which engines may remain in use in the coming years. However, this area of regulation remains subject to change based on domestic and international pressures to address the perceived needs of our global environment, making it difficult to predict how these developments might impact our business in the future.

The vast majority of airports where we operate are owned and operated by state and local government entities, which have the right to impose safety, security, and other regulations as long as they do not conflict with federal law.

Airport authorities also have extensive property rights, enabling them to impose conditions on leasing and using airport facilities. The terms on which an airport authority might lease or allow use of its property may be less favorable than customary for real estate transactions outside of an airport environment.

These regulatory authorities possess the power to suspend or revoke our certifications or authorizations, impose monetary fines and other civil penalties, and refer cases for criminal prosecution, which could halt our business and flight operations. These actions may occur with or without an opportunity for us to present our defense before action is taken by the regulator. Even if our position is potentially reasonable, we may not prevail in an appeal because of the regulators' significant discretion and the deference given to their interpretation of the facts and law during the appeal process.

National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) is an independent agency that is responsible for oversight of aircraft accident investigations. NTSB regulations that govern accident notification are contained in 14 CFR Part 830. NTSB has the authority to issue subpoenas in conjunction with accident investigations. NTSB may elect to delegate accident investigation duties to the FAA.

Compliance with laws governing the collection, use, transfer, security, storage, destruction, and other processing of personally identifiable information and other data relating to individuals is important for our business. As our technology platform is an integral part of our operations, adherence to federal, state, local, municipal, and foreign laws and regulations, as well as industry standards, is necessary to enhance the user experience of our mobile application and marketing site relevant for our business.

We receive, collect, store, process, transmit, share, and use personal information, and other customer data, including health information. We also rely on third parties to manage certain aspects of these operations and to receive, collect, store, process, transmit, share, and use such personal information, including payment information. The collection, storage, processing, sharing, use, retention, and security of this information are governed by various laws and regulations.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) establishes a privacy framework for covered businesses regarding data privacy rights for California residents. Compliance with the CCPA is necessary for businesses to provide certain disclosures to California residents, respond to their requests for disclosures regarding their personal information, and offer them the right to opt out of sales of personal information. The CCPA also provides for severe statutory damages for noncompliance and private rights of action for certain breaches of personal information resulting from a covered business's failure to implement reasonable security procedures and practices. Furthermore, the California Privacy Rights Act, which took effect on January 1, 2023, expands California residents' rights under the CCPA.

Given that we collect personal information from California residents through the air transportation services we have offered in California in the past and direct marketing to California residents for those services, as well as our plans to offer future services in California, we believe that we are subject to compliance with California's privacy laws.

Our employees are central to our and our customers’ success. As of December 31, 2023, we have 229 employees, including 116 pilots and no part-time employees. In addition, we engage a number of contractors and consultants to supplement our workforce. All full-time employees are located within the United States and fulfill a range of roles, including non-exempt and exempt positions in corporate functions, pilots, and maintenance personnel.

To date, Volato Group and our affiliates have not experienced any work stoppages. Furthermore, none of our employees are currently represented by a labor organization or subject to collective bargaining agreements. Our human capital objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and new employees. The principal purposes of our incentive plans are to attract, retain and motivate selected employees and consultants through the granting of stock-based compensation awards.

We are a remote-first company, founded during the COVID-19 crisis. Our physical operations are located primarily at three locations: St. Augustine, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia. All our facilities are located

on land that is leased from third parties. We believe that these facilities meet our current and future anticipated needs. In addition, primarily for aircraft ownership program participants flight pricing, we designate a few other physical locations as operational bases, which may or may not have personnel or facilities, but which our owners are not charged repositioning fees to fly from.

Due to operating a floating fleet, our core fleet of charter aircraft do not return to our facilities or a designated airport each night, but over-night throughout the country based on their flight schedule. Our managed aircraft, which are operated primarily for the benefit of the aircraft owners, typically return to a single, “home” airport, but will occasionally overnight at other airports.

Safeguarding our proprietary technology and other intellectual property is important for our business. We employ a combination of strategies, including trademarks, contractual commitments and security procedures to protect our intellectual property. We require our employees and relevant consultants to sign confidentiality agreements and certain third parties to sign nondisclosure agreements. We routinely evaluate our technology development initiatives and branding strategy to identify potential new intellectual property. We have pending U.S. and certain foreign trademark applications, including the “Volato” word mark and Dragonfly design mark.

Presently, we own the Internet domain “flyvolato.com.” The regulation of domain names in the United States is subject to change, and regulatory authorities may create additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or change the prerequisites for holding domain names. As a result, we may not be able to acquire or maintain all domain names that incorporate the name “Volato” or are otherwise relevant to or descriptive of our business.

Although software can be protected by copyright law, we have chosen to rely primarily on trade secret law to protect our proprietary software and have chosen not to register any copyrights in these works. In the United States, copyright law requires registration to bring a claim for infringement and to obtain certain types of remedies. However, even if we decide to register a copyright in our software to bring an infringement action, the remedies and damages available to us for unauthorized use of our software may be limited.

It is important to note that intellectual property laws, contractual commitments, and security procedures provide only limited protection, and our intellectual property rights may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, infringed upon, or misappropriated. Furthermore, trade secrets, know-how, and other proprietary materials may be independently developed by our competitors or revealed to the public or our competitors, and may no longer provide protection for the related intellectual property.

Additionally, intellectual property laws vary from country to country, and we have not sought trademark registrations in every foreign jurisdiction in which we have or may operate. As a result, we may be unable to protect certain aspects of our brands or other intellectual property in other jurisdictions.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. This discussion contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks faced by us described in “Risk Factors” starting on page 8 and elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section to “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the Company” are intended to mean the business and operations of Volato Group, Inc.

Our mission is to provide our JetShare owners and other customers more time for the rest of their lives by providing convenient and high-quality travel by using the right aircraft for the mission and by developing proprietary technology designed to make the travel experience more seamless.

Our revenue is generated through our aircraft ownership program, a focused commercial strategy which includes deposit products and charter flights and aircraft management services. Our aircraft ownership program is an asset-lite model whereby we sell each fleet aircraft to a limited liability company (LLC), which sells LLC membership interests to third-party owners and leases the aircraft back to us for management and charter operation on behalf of the LLC under 14 C.F.R. Part 135. In turn, program participants (JetShare owners) invest in those special purpose entities to fund the aircraft purchase. We operate the aircraft on behalf of the special purpose entity and enter into charter agreements with the individual JetShare owners to provide preferential access and charter pricing for our HondaJet fleet.

Additionally, our commercial services generate demand for our fleet through the operation of retail deposit programs and charter as well as wholesale charter through brokers. We offer these programs on a fleet of 18 HondaJets and a managed fleet of 6 aircraft. For additional details about these revenue streams, please see the section above titled “Aircraft Ownership Program Revenue Streams”. Finally, we provide aircraft management services to existing owners of aircraft and help them monetize their aircraft through charter services.

Financial highlights for the year-to-date results through September 30, 2023 include:

We believe that the following factors have affected our financial condition and results of operations and are expected to continue to have a significant effect:

We compete for market share in the highly fragmented private aviation industry. The top 10 largest operators control approximately 25% of the total flight hours operated in the United States. For example, there are over

400 light jet operators (excludes air ambulance) offering Part 135 charter services in our primary network service area, flying approximately 293,000 flight hours. The breadth of operators and the product options (fractional, deposit/card programs, charter) makes the industry highly competitive.

In 2022 and 2023, we invested in the core business systems, processes and people required to safely operate a rapidly growing private aviation company. We will continue to invest in the technology and systems required to increase our fleet availability and utilization. The Company currently enrolls our fleet of HondaJet aircraft, and most of our managed aircraft, in OEM maintenance programs. These programs provide known hourly maintenance rates for our airplanes based on utilization levels and enable our maintenance expenses to be predictable. There is an opportunity to move to different tiers of these programs and increase the amount of maintenance we perform in-house to potentially increase aircraft availability. Substantial increases to the scope of Volato-performed maintenance would likely require material investments in personnel, equipment, facilities, and training. We will continue to evaluate these opportunities to improve our cost structure going forward.

We believe that pricing and data analytics are critical to our long-term ability to deliver high utilization rates on our aircraft. We plan to continue to develop new and unique products designed to leverage our yield management expertise. These new products have and will continue to require new technology systems and the resulting investment. We believe these investments will lead to increased financial performance by increasing total contribution margin from flight operations.

The private aviation industry is volatile and affected by economic cycles and trends. Our financial performance is susceptible to economically driven changes in demand particularly for our discretionary charter and deposit products. Our cost structure and private aviation demand levels can be greatly impacted by the price of jet fuel, pilot salaries and availability, changes in government regulations, consumer confidence, safety concerns, and other factors. Our experience operating light jets leads us to believe that operating the most efficient fleet in each class of airplanes (i.e., light, mid, super mid, large cabin), will prove beneficial in an economic downturn.

The competition for pilots has intensified in recent years. We have relied on increasing pilot pay and benefits to continue to attract qualified applicants including equity compensation. While we have been able to attract and retain the appropriate number of pilots to date, there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to do so without further increasing our cost structure.

Subject to any lockup or other transfer restrictions, the Selling Securityholders will be able to sell all of their shares of Common Stock for so long as the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part is available for use. As of February 1, 2024, the securities being offered in this prospectus represent 52.4% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock, and the sale of such securities by the Selling Securityholders, or the perception that those sales might occur, could increase the volatility of the market price of the Common Stock or result in a decline in the public trading price of the Common Stock. A decline in the market price of our securities could both adversely affect securityholders’ ability to sell securities and the Company’s ability to issue additional securities to raise additional capital. See “Risk Factors—Sales of Common Stock, or the perception of such sales, by us or the Selling Securityholders pursuant to this prospectus in the public market or otherwise, could cause the market price for our Common Stock to decline and certain Selling Securityholders still may receive significant proceeds.”

The global spread of COVID-19 has negatively affected the global economy, disrupted global supply chains, and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. Although unpredictable, the impact of this pandemic and other similar pandemics can impact the business, employees, suppliers, and customers in a variety of ways.

Our results of operations for any specific period are not necessarily indicative of those for an entire year since the private aviation industry is subject to seasonal fluctuations and general economic conditions.

In addition to our results of operations below, we report certain key financial measures that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP.

These non-GAAP financial measures are an addition, and not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to any performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures of financial results provide useful supplemental information to investors, about Volato. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures and their nearest GAAP equivalents, including that they exclude significant expenses that are required by GAAP to be recorded in Volato’s financial measures. In addition, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted for (i) interest income (expense), (ii) income tax expenses (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) equity-based compensation expense, (v) acquisition, integration, and capital raise related expenses, and (v) other items not indicative of our ongoing operating performance. We include Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure for assessing operating performance.

The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure:

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022: