PACI PROOF Acquisition Corp I

We are offering (i) 6,849,315 shares of Class A common stock of Volato Group, Inc. (the “Common Stock”) and (ii) Common Warrants to purchase 6,849,315 shares of common stock (“Common Warrants”), at an exercise price of $0.55 per share (representing 100% of the assumed public offering price per share of Common Stock to be sold in this offering), on a best-efforts basis. The Common Warrants will expire on the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date. We are offering the Common Stock and Common Warrants at an assumed purchase price of $0.55 per share, which is equal to the closing price of our common stock on the NYSE American on July 11, 2024.

The actual public offering price will be determined between us, A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“A.G.P.”), Roth Capital Partners, LLC (“Roth” and, together with A.G.P., whom we refer to herein as the “placement agent”) and the investors in the offering, and may be at a discount to the current market price of our common stock. Therefore, the assumed public offering price used throughout this prospectus may not be indicative of the final offering price.

We are also offering 6,849,315 pre-funded warrants, (“Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 6,849,315 shares of Common Stock. We are offering to certain purchasers whose purchase of Common Stock in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and certain related parties, beneficially owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding shares of Common Stock immediately following the consummation of this offering, the opportunity to purchase, if any purchaser so chooses, Pre-Funded Warrants, in lieu of shares of Common Stock that would otherwise result in such purchaser's beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. The purchase price of each Pre-Funded Warrant is $0.5499 (which is equal to the assumed public offering price per share of Common Stock to be sold in this offering minus $0.0001, the exercise price per share of Common Stock of each Pre-Funded Warrant). The Pre-Funded Warrants are immediately exercisable and may be exercised at any time until all of the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised in full. For each Pre-Funded Warrant we sell, the number of shares of Common Stock we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis.

Because we will issue a Common Warrant for each share of Common Stock and for each Pre-Funded Warrant sold in this offering, the number of Common Warrants sold in this offering will not change as a result of a change in the mix of shares of Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants sold.

Each Pre-Funded Warrant may be exercised, immediately in cash and from time to time thereafter.

Our shares of Common Stock, Pre-Funded Warrants and Common Warrants can only be purchased together in this offering, but will be issued separately. Up to 13,698,630 shares of Common Stock issuable from time to time upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants and Common Warrants are also being offered by this prospectus. These securities are being sold in this offering to certain purchasers under a securities purchase agreement dated July   , 2024 between us and the purchasers.

Our shares of Common Stock are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SOAR.” On July 22, 2024, the last reported sale price of our shares of Common Stock on the NYSE American was $0.48 per share.

As stated above, the public offering price for our securities in this offering will be determined at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to the then current market price. The assumed public offering price used throughout this prospectus may not be indicative of the final offering price. The final public offering price will be determined through negotiation between us and investors based upon a number of factors, including our history and our prospects, the industry in which we operate, our past and present operating results, the previous experience of our executive officers and the general condition of the securities markets at the time of this offering. There is no established public trading market for the Common Warrants and we do not expect markets to develop. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of the warrants will be limited. In addition, we do not intend to list the Pre-Funded Warrants or the Common Warrants on the NYSE American, any other national securities exchange or any other trading system.

We have retained the placement agent to act as our sole placement agent in connection with the securities offered by this prospectus. The placement agent is not purchasing or selling any of these securities nor is it required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of securities, but has agreed to use its reasonable best efforts to sell the securities offered by this prospectus. We may not sell all of the securities in this offering. We have agreed to pay the placement agent the placement agent fees set forth in the table below.

There is no minimum number of securities or minimum aggregate amount of proceeds for this offering to close. We expect this offering to be completed not later than two business days following the commencement of this offering and we will deliver all securities to be issued in connection with this offering delivery versus payment (“DVP”) /receipt versus payment (“RVP”) upon receipt of investor funds received by us. Accordingly, neither we nor the placement agent have made any arrangements to place investor funds in an escrow account or trust account since the placement agent will not receive investor funds in connection with the sale of the securities offered hereunder.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as that term is defined under the federal securities laws, and a “smaller reporting company” and, as such, are subject to certain reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company.”

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 11 of this prospectus.

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

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus, and any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. Neither we nor any of the placement agents have authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from, or in addition to, that contained in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus and any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We and the placement agents 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 not an offer to sell, nor is it seeking an offer to buy, these 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 only, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement, or any sale of the securities offered hereby. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

Neither we nor any of the placement agents have taken any action 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 TM 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.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” and any related terms refer to Volato Group, Inc and our consolidated subsidiaries.

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.

We obtained the industry and market data used throughout this prospectus from our own internal estimates and research, as well as from independent market research, industry and general publications and surveys, governmental agencies, publicly available information and research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties. Internal estimates are derived from publicly available information released by industry analysts and third- party sources, our internal research and our industry experience, and are based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of our industry and market, which we believe to be reliable and reasonable. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which this data is derived. In addition, while we believe the industry and market data included in this prospectus is reliable and based on reasonable assumptions, such data involve material risks and other uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties or by us.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as other information included in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus, before making an investment decision. The occurrence of any of the following risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If any of these risks actually occur, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your original investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks and uncertainties described below.

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 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. Our JetShare 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.

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 the 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 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 a 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 conflicts in Israel and Ukraine and Israel, 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.

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.

Our operations are capital intensive, and we require sufficient liquidity levels for our operations and strategic growth plans. 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. 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 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 and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

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 compete against commercial and private aviation operators, including the major U.S. airlines for pilots, mechanics and other skilled labor and some of the airlines may offer wage and benefit packages which exceed ours. As we grow our fleet and/or more pilots approach retirement age, we may be affected by a pilot shortage. 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.

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 the 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 the 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 which may result in us 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 another 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.

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 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.

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.

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 March 31, 2024, 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 March 31, 2024, there is a balance of $33.8 million in PDP Notes, with $1.8 million in letters of credit with Chase Bank that are secured with $1.8 million in restricted cash (interest-bearing).

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.

We are required to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. As a newly public company, 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 skill set and experience. We have assessed and documented the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, validated through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implemented 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 the 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.

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 Delaware General Corporation Law (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.

Although during the period prior to the Business Combination we 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 efficiently manage our responsibilities as a public company. As a public company, we are subject to significant regulatory oversight, reporting obligations under U.S. securities laws, and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These 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 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.

Our common stock is currently listed on the NYSE American. If we are unable to comply with the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American, our common stock will be delisted from the NYSE American, which will limit investors’ ability to effect transactions in our common stock and subject us to additional trading restrictions. In order to maintain our listing, we must maintain a minimum amount of stockholders’ equity. In addition to this objective standard, NYSE American may delist the securities of any issuer for other reasons involving the judgment of NYSE American.

On June 18, 2024, the Company received a notice (the “notice”) from the NYSE American advising the Company that it is not in compliance with the NYSE American continued listing standards set forth in Section 1003(a)(i) of the NYSE American Company Guide (the “Company Guide”) requiring a company to have stockholders’ equity of at least $2.0 million if it has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in two of its three most recent fiscal years and Section 1003(a)(ii) of the Company Guide requiring a company to have stockholders’ equity of at least $4.0 million if it has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years. The Company submitted a plan (the “Compliance Plan”) on July 18, 2024 to the NYSE American outlining certain actions the Company has taken and will take to regain compliance with the continued listing standards by December 18, 2025, including cost savings measures which the Company initiated in Q2 2024, the Company’s follow-on offering under this registration statement which is expected to be completed in Q3 2024 and the resumption of plane deliveries in Q3 2024. If the Compliance Plan is not permitted or the Compliance Plan is not accepted, delisting proceedings will commence.

If the NYSE American delists our common stock from trading on its exchange, including if such delisting were to occur immediately without being able to submit a compliance plan or appeal such delisting, and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange (though we expect the common stock would qualify to be quoted on an over-the-counter market), we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our common stock is listed on the NYSE American, our common stock qualifies as a covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. If we were no longer listed on the NYSE American, our common stock would not be a covered security and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our common stock and other Company securities.

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.

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 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.

The offering price of our common stock is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock, which on a pro forma basis was $(0.13) per share as of March 31, 2024. Based on an assumed public offering price of $0.55 per share, which is the last reported trading price of our common stock on the NYSE American on July 11, 2024, you will experience immediate dilution of $0.56 per share, representing the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering and the assumed public offering price per share of common stock. This means that you will pay a higher price per share than the amount of our total tangible

assets, less our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding. Furthermore, if our previously issued options and other rights to acquire common stock at prices below the public offering price are exercised, you will experience further dilution. In addition, you may also experience additional dilution if options or other rights to purchase our common stock that we may issue in the future are exercised or converted or we issue additional shares of our common stock at prices lower than our net tangible book value at such time. For more information, see “Dilution.”

Although we currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering in the manner described in the section titled “Use of Proceeds” in this prospectus, our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. You will not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how to use the net proceeds from this offering. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could harm our business, cause the price of our common stock to decline and otherwise impact the growth of our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

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.

We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $3.5 million after deducting the Placement Agent fee and estimated offering expenses payable by us and excluding the proceeds, if any, from the subsequent exercise of the Common Warrants.

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include costs and expenses to advance our aircraft sales and ownership program, our aircraft management services, and our charter flights. We have not determined the amount of net proceeds to be used specifically for any of such purposes.

However, this is a reasonable best efforts offering with no minimum number of securities or amount of proceeds as a condition to closing, and we may not sell all or any of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus; and, as a result, we may receive significantly less in net proceeds in this offering. For example, if we sell only 10%, 25%, 50% or 75% of the maximum amount offered, our gross proceeds will be approximately $350 thousand, $875 thousand, $1.8 million or $2.6 million, respectively.

Pending the application of the net proceeds as described above or otherwise, we may invest the proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities or guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government or other securities.

The principal market on which our common stock is being traded is the NYSE American under the symbol “SOAR.” On July 22, 2024, the closing price as reported on the NYSE American of our common stock was $0.48 per share.

We have not paid any cash dividends on the Common Stock since inception. 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. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will pay any cash dividends or other distributions to holders of our common stock, or as to the amount of any such cash dividends or other distributions.

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024:

Our capitalization following the closing of this offering will depend on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Cash and cash equivalents are not components of our total capitalization. You should read this table together with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $0.55 per share, which is the last reported trading price of our common stock on the NYSE American on July 11, 2024, would increase (decrease) the as adjusted amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity (deficit) and total capitalization by $6.6 million, assuming that 100% of the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated placement agent fees and transaction expenses. An increase (decrease) of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the as adjusted amount of each of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity (deficit) and total capitalization by $0.5 million, assuming no change in the assumed public offering price per share and after deducting estimated placement agent fees and transaction expenses.

The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

The information set forth in the table above excludes each of the following:

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. As of March 31, 2024, our historical net tangible book value was $(3.7) million, or $(0.13) per share. Our historical net tangible book value is the amount of our total tangible assets less our total liabilities. Historical net tangible book value per share represents historical net tangible book value divided by the 29,251,629 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024.

After giving effect to our issuance and sale of 6,849,315 shares of our common stock in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $0.55 per share, which is the last reported trading price of our common stock on the NYSE American on July 11, 2024, and after deducting estimated placement agent fees and estimated transaction expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2024 would have been $(406) thousand, or $(0.01) per share. This represents an immediate increase in as adjusted net tangible book value per share of $0.12 to existing stockholders and immediate dilution of $0.56 in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering. Dilution per share to new investors is determined by subtracting as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the assumed public offering price per share paid by new investors.

The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

The above table and discussion are based on 29,251,629 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024, and excludes:

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” approach we are able to achieve a more efficient private jet experience, without sacrificing luxury.

Volato Group, Inc. is 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 and 2025. 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 executed a firm order with Honda for 23 HondaJets to be delivered from 2023 through 2025.

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.”.

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 2021. 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 services 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 make 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 sales 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-light 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 our interests and that of the aircraft owners. 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 with 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 dates. 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 “aircraft usage 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 compensate 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 the 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 cabins 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 2022. 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 managed aircraft 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 enhance 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 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 April 15, 2023, we actively support organizations such as Women in Aviation, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, National Gay Pilot 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 Operations Control Center (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 Experience Concierge (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 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 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 a 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 a maintenance facility 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.

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 of U.S. citizens and satisfy 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 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.

The 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 to 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 July 11, 2024, we have 241 employees, including 123 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 pandemic. 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 instead remain 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.

From time to time we are a party to various litigation matters incidental to the conduct of our business. We are not presently party to any legal proceedings the resolution of which we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, liquidity, results of operation, cash flows or capital levels.

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 11 and elsewhere in this 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, charter flights and aircraft management services. Our aircraft ownership program is an asset-light model whereby we sell LLC membership interests to third-party owners and then sell each fleet aircraft to a limited liability company (LLC). The LLC then 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 enters 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 24 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.

Since inception, we have been focused on making the necessary investments in people, focused acquisitions, aircraft and technology to build an industry leading aviation company that uses capital efficiently.

Financial highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2024 include:

Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 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, publicly traded 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 the 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.

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, (in thousands, except percentages):

Revenue decreased by $2.5 million, or 16%, for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. Revenue consists of the following (in thousands, except percentages):

The decrease in revenue was the result of a decline in revenue from aircraft sales of $5.7 million and lower revenue from managed aircraft, partially offset by an increase in revenue from plane usage of $4.8 million, during the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in revenue from aircraft sales was primarily the result of delays in aircraft deliveries in the first quarter of 2024. Honda released the new HondaJet Elite II model in the fourth quarter of 2022 with Volato taking delivery of its first two Elite II model aircraft in fourth quarter 2022. We have orders for 22 additional HondaJet Elite IIs and expect delivery of eight to ten throughout 2024 and the remaining in 2025. In addition, we have orders for four Gulfstream G280 jets and expect delivery of two to four in 2024 and the remaining in 2025. We believe the expected aircraft deliveries will result in higher aircraft sales revenue.

The increase in aircraft usage revenue is the result of an increase in our floating fleet to 26 as of March 31, 2024 from 15 as of March 31, 2023 as well as an increase in our blended yield per hour to $5,313 during the three months ended March 31, 2024 from $4,927 per hour for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Our aircraft usage revenue is dependent on the (i) number of jets in our floating fleet driving total flight hours, (ii) mix of demand between

owner, program and ad hoc impacting blended yield, and (iii) empty percentage. As our floating fleet grows, we expect both flight hours and blended yield to increase resulting in higher aircraft usage revenue.

Cost of revenue comprises expenses tied to the associated revenue streams: aircraft sales, aircraft usage, and managed aircraft. Aircraft sales cost of revenue is our purchase price of the aircraft. Aircraft usage cost of revenue includes all of the costs related to operations of our HondaJet floating fleet including flight crew salary and benefits, fuel, maintenance, owner revenue share, lease costs, and landing and other airport fees. The managed aircraft cost of revenue includes all costs incurred in our managed aircraft including the cost of flight crews, fuel, maintenance, and landing and other airport fees.

Cost of revenue increased by $129 thousand, for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. Cost of revenue consists of the following (in thousands, except percentages):

The increase in cost of revenue was the result of a decrease in cost of revenue from aircraft sales of $5.4 million and lower cost of revenue from managed aircraft of $1.3 million, partially offset by an increase in cost of revenue from plane usage of $6.9 million, during the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in cost of revenue from aircraft sales was primarily the result of delays in aircraft deliveries in the first quarter of 2024.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $5.5 million, or 89%, for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in selling, general and administrative is primarily related to higher advertising and marketing expense of $2.0 million, higher salaries of $1.2 million to support the growth in the company, and professional fees and other expenses associated with becoming a public company. In May 2024, we implemented a cost savings initiative to support our path to profitability. On a proforma basis, assuming these cost savings had been implemented at the beginning of January, our selling, general and administrative expenses would have been $9.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Gain on sale of consolidated entity consists of the gain on the sale of Fly Dreams LLC during 2023.

Gain on sale of equity method investment consists of the sale of the remaining interest in Volato 239, LLC and re-sold fractions in Volato 149, LLC and Volato 234, LLC.

As part of the Business Combination, we entered into an agreement for an OTC Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”). We recorded a fair value adjustment on the Forward Purchase Agreement resulting in a loss of $227 thousand loss on the change in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Interest expense primarily consists of interest related to our credit facilities and convertible notes and amortization of debt issuance costs. Interest expense increased $244 thousand, in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023 primarily as a result of an increase in the Shearwater debt facility.

Revenue decreased by $23.4 million, or 24%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in revenue was primarily attributable to the following changes in charter flight revenue, aircraft management revenue and aircraft sales revenue (in thousands, except percentages):

The decrease in revenue was the result of a decline in revenue from aircraft sales of $46.3 million, or 68%, partially offset by an increase in revenue from plane usage of $23.4 million, or 162% during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in aircraft sales primarily the result of lower aircraft delivery in 2023 compared to 2022. Honda released the new HondaJet Elite II model in the fourth quarter of 2022 with Volato taking delivery of its first two Elite II model aircraft in fourth quarter 2022. We have orders for 22 additional HondaJet Elite IIs and expect delivery of eight to ten throughout 2024 and the remaining in 2025. In addition, we have orders for four Gulfstream G280 jets and expect delivery of one to two in 2024 and the remaining in 2025. We believe the expected aircraft deliveries will result in higher aircraft sales revenue.

The increase in aircraft usage revenue is the result of an increase in our floating fleet to 24 as of December 31, 2023. Our aircraft usage revenue is dependent on the (i) number of jets in our floating fleet driving total flight hours, (ii) mix of demand between owner, program and ad hoc impacting blended yield, and (iii) empty percentage. As our floating fleet grows, we expect both flight hours and blended yield to increase resulting in higher aircraft usage revenue.

Cost of revenue comprises expenses tied to the associated revenue streams: aircraft sales, aircraft usage, and managed aircraft. Aircraft sales cost of revenue is our purchase price of the aircraft. Aircraft usage cost of revenue includes all of the costs related to operations of our HondaJet floating fleet including flight crew salary and benefits, fuel, maintenance, owner revenue share, lease costs, and landing and other airport fees. The managed aircraft cost of revenue includes all costs incurred in our managed aircraft including the cost of flight crews, fuel, maintenance, and landing and other airport fees.

Cost of revenue decreased by $12.3 million, or 13%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in cost of revenue was primarily attributable to the following changes in charter flight revenue, aircraft management revenue and aircraft sales revenue (in thousands, except percentages):

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $17.2 million, or 148%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in selling, general and administrative is primarily related to higher salaries of $8.6 million to support the growth in the company, higher marketing spend of $2 million and professional fees and other costs associated with the growth of the Company and becoming a public company.

Gain on sale of consolidated entity consists of the gain on the sale of Fly Dreams LLC during 2023.

Gain on sale of equity method investment consists of the sale of the remaining interest in Volato 239, LLC and re-sold fractions in Volato 149, LLC and Volato 234, LLC.

As part of the Business Combination, we entered into an agreement for an OTC Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”). We recorded a fair value adjustment on the Forward Purchase Agreement resulting in a $13.4 million loss on the change in fair value.

Interest expense primarily consists of interest related to our credit facilities and convertible notes and amortization of debt issuance costs. Interest expense increased $2.5 million, or 288%, during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily as a result of an increase in the Shearwater debt facility.

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 expense, net, (ii) provision for income taxes (benefit) (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 tables reconcile Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure (in thousands):

Our principal sources of liquidity have historically consisted of financing activities, including proceeds from the issuance of stock, borrowings under our credit facilities, and capital raises from convertible debt and preferred stock. We additionally manage liquidity through the aircraft sales which provides up front deposits from our customers and aircraft usage. As of March 31, 2024, we had $8.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we converted our line of credit from a related party into convertible notes, and therefore have no credit facilities for future borrowings.

Our primary needs for liquidity are to fund working capital, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and for general corporate purposes.

We believe factors that could affect our liquidity include the ability of our OEM partners to meet our delivery schedule and our ability to sell those aircraft, the growth rate of our charter and deposit program flying, changes in demand for our services, competitive pricing pressures, the timing and extent of spending on software development and other growth initiatives, our ability to improve the efficiency of our network flying, and overall economic conditions. To the extent that our current liquidity is insufficient to fund future activities, we will need to raise additional funds. We may attempt to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities, through debt financing arrangements, or both. Raising additional funds by issuing equity securities will dilute, the ownership of existing shareholders. The occurrence of additional debt financing would result in debt service obligations, and any future instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing covenants that could restrict our operations. In the event that additional funds are required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We have incurred negative cash flows from operating activities and significant losses from operations historically and plan to raise additional capital to fund our future operations. We believe our cash on hand, our planned capital raise, and our results of operations including our planned sale of aircraft during the year ending December 31, 2024, will be sufficient to meet our projected working capital and capital expenditure requirements for a period of at least 12 months from the date of this report. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be adversely affected. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

The following tables summarize our cash flows for each of the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):

Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $7.7 million. The cash outflow from operating activities consisted of our net loss of $17.4 million, non-cash items of $0.5 million, and a

change in net operating assets and liabilities of $9.2 million. The change in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily as a result of an increase in customer deposits and deferred revenue of $6.2 million and an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $2.3 million.

Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $7.6 million. The cash outflow from operating activities consisted of our net loss of $7.5 million, non-cash items of $1.1 million, and a change in net operating assets and liabilities of $1.0 million. The change in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily a result of an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $1.0 million, a decrease in prepaid and other current assets of $0.9 million, and a decrease in accounts receivable of $0.5 million, offset by a change in deposits of $1.3 million.

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $30.4 million. The cash outflow from operating activities consisted of our net loss of $52.8 million, non-cash items of $13.0 million, and a change in net operating assets and liabilities of $9.5 million. The increase in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily as a result of an increase in customer deposits and deferred revenue of $10.7 million and an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $5.7 million. This was offset by a decrease in deposits of $3.9 million, a decrease in prepaid and other current assets of $1.6 million, and a decrease in accounts receivable, net of $1.1 million.

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $21.4 million. The cash outflow from operating activities consisted of our net loss of $9.4 million, non-cash items of $0.3 million, and a change in net operating assets and liabilities of $11.7 million. The decrease in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily as a result of a decrease in deposits of $11.4 million, a decrease in accounts receivable of $2.2 million and a decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $1.6 million. This was offset by an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $2.2 million and an increase in customer deposits and deferred revenue of $1.3 million.

Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $56 thousand related to the purchase of property and equipment.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $2.0 million. Cash flow from investing activities was primarily attributable to $1.9 million from the net sale of equity method investment.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $1.8 million. The cash flow from investing activities consisted of $4.2 million in proceeds from the sale of an equity method investment, offset somewhat by $2.3 million in payment for the purchase of an equity method investment.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $5.1 million. In 2022, the cash inflow from investing activities was primarily attributable to $6.6 million from the sale of equity method investments net of $1.9 million paid for the acquisition of GCA. In addition, we used $300,000 for capital expenditures.

Net cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $684 thousand. Cash flow from financing activities consisted of repayment on loans.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $5.5 million. Cash flow from financing activities was primarily attributable proceeds from the issuance of convertible notes of $4.8 million and proceeds from line of credit of $1 million.

Net cash from financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $37.5 million. Cash flow from financing activities consisted proceeds of $24.2 million from the sale of preferred stock, $16.7 million from the Business Combination, net of closing costs, $12.7 million from the issuance of convertible notes, $2.5 million in proceeds from the forward purchase agreement and $1 million from our line of credit. This was offset by the payment for a forward purchase agreement of $18.9 and $0.8 million for the payment of a loan.

Net cash provided in financing activities for December 31, 2022 was $22.6 million. In 2022, the cash inflow from financing activities was primarily attributable to $18.9 million of proceeds related to the issuance of convertible notes and $3.7 million of proceeds, net of repayments related to long-term debt.

To date, we have financed our operations primarily through issuance of preferred interests, cash from operations, borrowings of long-term debt, loans and convertible notes.

On December 9, 2021, the Company entered into a revolving loan agreement with Dennis Liotta, an affiliate of the Company, for a total amount of $8 million which was set to mature on January 1, 2023 (“December 2021 note”). The Company was required to make monthly payments of interest at a fixed rate of 4.0% per annum. In conjunction with the execution of the revolving note, both parties executed a security agreement, under which the Company granted a continuing security interest in all of the assets of the Company.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company did not remit its interest payments in connection with the December 2021 note to this related party, thus triggering a default and increasing the interest rate to 9% plus an additional 5% on the missed payments. The agreement stipulated that in the event of default, the entire unpaid principal balance together with all accrued but unpaid interest shall be due and payable regardless of the maturity date. If the default occurred and remained uncured beyond the applicable grace period, then the entire unpaid principal balance would bear interest at a default interest of 500 basis points (5%) over the regular interest or nine percent (9%). Events of default include the failure to make principal or interest payments when due, any judgement in excess of $500,000, indebtedness cross default, or bankruptcy proceedings.

On March 15, 2023, the outstanding balance of the December 2021 note and accrued interest was converted into a convertible note with a principal balance of $6.0 million bearing interest at 4%, maturing on March 31, 2024.

On March 15, 2023, the Company entered into a promissory note agreement with Dennis Liotta, an affiliate of the Company, for a total amount of $1.0 million, with an effective date of February 27, 2023, which matures on March 31, 2024 (“March 2023 note”). The entire outstanding principal balance together with accrued but unpaid interest are due at the maturity date. The March 2023 note includes a ten percent (10%) interest rate per annum, which will be increased to twenty percent (20%) upon an event of default. Events of default include the failure to make any principal and accrued interest when due, any legal proceedings against the Company or a voluntary federal bankruptcy. The March 2023 note may be prepaid at any time without penalties. This note has been repaid as of April 1, 2024.

During the year ended December 31, 2022 and year ended December 31, 2023, we issued a series of convertible notes (“Series CN-001”) with various investors for an aggregate principal amount of $19.1 million. The notes were due and payable at any time on or after December 31, 2023 upon the written demand of the majority holders, which could be extended at the sole election of the Company to December 31, 2024, should the Company submit or file a prospectus, proxy statement or registration statement with the SEC. The convertibles notes carried a five percent (5%) interest per annum. The Company could not prepay the convertible notes prior to maturity without the written consent of a majority of the holders. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company issued a series of convertible notes (“Series CN-002”) in an aggregate principal amount of $16.4 million, of which $10.4 million was funded and $6.0 million was issued pursuant to the conversion of the line of credit with a related party (see above). The notes (principal and interest) were due and payable at any time on or after March 31, 2024, upon the written demand of the majority holders, which can be extended at the sole election of the Company to September 30, 2024, should the Company submit or file a prospectus, proxy statement or registration statement with the SEC. The convertibles notes carried a four percent (4%) coupon per annum effective July 1, 2023. The Company could not prepay the convertible notes prior to maturity without the written consent of a majority of the holders.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company executed a series of purchase agreements with Gulfstream Aerospace, LP for the acquisition of four (4) Gulfstream G-280 aircraft for total consideration of $79.0 million with expected deliveries in 2024 and 2025, of which $39 million were funded and paid through December 31, 2023, through a credit facility from SAC leasing G 280 for $28.5 million and $10.5 million through cash deposits. The Company has a credit facility in place with SAC Leasing G280 LLC to fund $40.5 million of the original $79.0 million due under these purchase agreements with Gulfstream Aerospace LP. The remaining balance to be funded by SAC Leasing G280 LLC is $12 million.

The maturity date is the earlier of the delivery date of the aircraft or September 14, 2025, which is thirty-five (35) months from the date of funding. The purchase agreement contracts were assigned to SAC G280 LLC as collateral on this credit facility.

On July 21, 2023, Volato entered into a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement by and among (i) Volato, (ii) the PROOF.vc SPV, (iii) Proof Acquisition Sponsor I, LLC (“PASI” or the “Sponsor”), and (iv) the holders of then-outstanding Series CN-001 and Series CN-0002 convertible promissory notes (the “Convertible Notes”), whereby (a) Volato may issue and sell up to a maximum aggregate of $60.0 million of Series A-1 Preferred Stock (the “Series A-1 Preferred Stock”) at a price of $10 per share, with $10.0 million of Series A-1 Preferred Stock issued and sold at an initial closing to the PROOF Investors, and (b) the Convertible Notes were converted into the amount of Series A-2 Preferred Stock (the “Series A-2 Preferred Stock”) or Series A-3 Preferred Stock (the “Series A-3 Preferred Stock” and together with the Series A-1 Preferred Stock and the Series A-2 Preferred Stock, the “Series A Preferred Stock”) at a conversion price of, in the case of the Series A-2 Preferred Stock, $5.9820 per share and in the case of the Series A-3 Preferred Stock, $9.00 per share (collectively, the “Private Financing”, such agreement, the “Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement”).

During the year ended December 31, 2023 the Company issued Series A-1 Preferred Stock and raised $24.2 million in cash from the issuance of Series A-1 Preferred Stock and converted $38.4 million of convertible promissory notes. During 2023, PROOF Acquisition Sponsor I, LLC purchased 1,308,398 shares of Series A-1 Preferred Stock (equal to 1,328,132 shares of Common Stock) and the PROOF.vc SPV purchased 1,102,689 shares of Series A-1 Preferred Stock (equal to 1,119,321 shares of Common Stock, respectively), at a purchase price of $10 per share.

For further information on the credit facilities and promissory notes, see Note 7 “Revolving Loan and Promissory Note – Related Party”, Note 8 “Unsecured Convertible Notes”, and Note 9 “Long Term Note Payable and Credit Facility” of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Our principal commitments consist of contractual cash obligations under our credit facilities, operating leases for certain controlled aircraft and the Notes. We have committed to acquire four (4) Gulfstream G-280 aircraft for total consideration of $79.0 million with expected deliveries in 2024 and 2025, of which $45 million was funded and paid through March 31, 2024. Additionally, we have committed to acquire an additional 23 Honda HA-420 aircraft for a total consideration of $161.1 million, with expected deliveries between the second quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2026, of which $1.5 million was funded and paid through March 31, 2024.

Our obligations under our credit facilities and the Notes are described in “—Sources of Liquidity” above. For further information on leases see Note 15 “Commitments and Contingencies” of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

On November 28, 2023, the Company and Vellar entered into an agreement (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”) for an OTC Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction (the “Forward Purchase Transaction”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Forward Purchase Agreement, Vellar purchased 1.7 million shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the “Number of Shares”) prior to the closing of the Business Combination from third parties through a broker in the open market.

Pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement, Vellar was paid $18.9 million by the Company in connection with its purchase of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock on December 1, 2023.

From time to time and on any date following the Business Combination (any such date, an “OET Date”), Vellar 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 Company shall be entitled to an amount from Vellar, and Vellar shall pay to the Company an amount, equal to the product of (x) the number of Terminated Shares and (y) the Reset Price (as that term is defined in the Forward Purchase Agreement) in respect of such OET Date. The Reset Price is equal to $10.81, but is subject to reduction upon a Dilutive Offering Reset (as that term is defined in the Forward Purchase Agreement).

Vellar delivered an OET Notice on December 29, 2023, reducing the Number of Shares by 233,646. The Company received a payment of $2.5 million on December 29, 2023 in connection with its delivery of the OET Notice.

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of our operations is based on our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain amounts included in or affecting the consolidated financial statements presented in this Annual Report and related disclosure must be estimated, requiring management to make assumptions with respect to values or conditions which cannot be known with certainty at the time the consolidated financial statements are prepared. Management believes that the accounting policies set forth below comprise the most important “critical accounting policies” for the company. A “critical accounting policy” is one which is both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and that involves difficult, subjective, or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management evaluates such policies on an ongoing basis, based upon historical results and experience, consultation with experts and other methods that management considers reasonable in the particular circumstances under which the judgments and estimates are made, as well as management’s forecasts as to the manner in which such circumstances may change in the future.

We determine revenue recognition pursuant to ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, through the following steps:

We generate revenue primarily through three sources (i) selling aircraft, (ii) commercial strategy which includes revenue from flights of deposit product customers and charter flights, and (iii) aircraft management services.

Volato also generates revenues from deposit products and charter flights. Domestic products are complementary set of products available to retail charter customers whereby, the customer pays deposits in exchange for certain charter product offerings of Volato to be provided in the future. Charter flights are flights offered to retail and non-retail charter customers in exchange for a fee. Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of our promised services, which generally occurs upon the flight hours being used during the period which the chartered flights were operated.

Volato aircraft management services are a full-service management and charter operator including dry leasing airplanes from owners, placing aircrafts on our FAA Air Carrier Certificate, operating the aircraft for owner flights and chartering the aircraft to customers. Under the aircraft management services revenues stream, aircraft owners pay management fees to Volato and all operating expenses for the aircraft, maintenance, crew hiring and management, flight operations, dispatch, hangar, fuel, cleaning, insurance, and aircraft charter marketing. Revenues from aircraft management services is partially recognized overtime for the administrative portion of the service, and partially recognized at a point in time, generally upon the transfer of control of the promised services included as part of the management services.

We record our intangible assets acquired in a business combination at cost in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. Following initial recognition, intangible assets are carried at cost less accumulated amortization and impairment losses, if any, and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset, which was determined based on management’s estimate of the period over which the asset will contribute to our future cash flows. We periodically reassess the useful lives of our definite-lived intangible assets when events or circumstances indicate that useful lives have significantly changed from the previous estimate.

We review the intangible assets for impairment on an annual basis or if events or changes in circumstances indicate it is more likely than not that they are impaired. These events could include a significant change in the

business climate, legal factors, a decline in operating performance, competition, sale, or disposition of a significant portion of the business, or other factors. If the carrying amount of a long-lived asset or asset group is determined not to be recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized and a write-down to fair value is recorded.

Goodwill represents the excess of the aggregate purchase price paid over the fair value of the net assets acquired in a business combination. Goodwill is not amortized and is tested for impairment at least annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Events or changes in circumstances that could trigger an impairment review include a significant adverse change in business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator, unanticipated competition, a loss of key personnel, significant changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business, significant negative industry or economic trends, or significant underperformance relative to expected historical or projected future results of operations. We have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, including goodwill.

If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, we determine that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, additional impairment testing is not required. We test for goodwill impairment annually during its fourth quarter on October 1.

The Company accounts for its equity method investment at cost, adjusted for the Company’s share of the investee’s earnings or losses, which is reflected in the consolidated statement of operations. The Company periodically reviews the investment for other than temporary declines in fair value below cost and more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable.

The Company evaluates its ownership, contractual relationships, and other interests in entities to determine the nature and extent of the interests, whether such interests are variable interests and whether the entities are VIEs in accordance with ASC 810, Consolidations. These evaluations can be complex and involve Management judgment as well as the use of estimates and assumptions based on available historical information, among other factors. Based on these evaluations, if the Company determines that it is the primary beneficiary of a VIE, this VIE entity is consolidated into the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue is recognized when control of the promised service is transferred to our member or the customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those services.

The aircraft ownership program consists of facilitating the formation of limited liability companies owned by third-party members and subsequently selling an aircraft to the limited liability company. Under the aircraft ownership program, a customer can purchase an ownership share in a limited liability company which permits the owner to participate in the aircraft revenue share.

Each Plane Co is managed by Volato, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, through an operating agreement. The Company does not have the obligation to absorb losses that could be significant to the VIE or the right to receive significant benefits when it holds a minority ownership in each PlaneCo.

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation costs under the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”), which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense related to the fair value of stock-based compensation awards that are ultimately expected to vest. The Company recognizes the cost of services received in exchange for awards of equity instruments based on the grant-date fair value of equity awards. This cost is recognized as expense over the employee’s requisite vesting period or over the nonemployee’s period of providing goods or services. Any forfeitures of stock-based compensation are recorded as they occur.

The Company utilizes the Black Scholes valuation model to value the issuance of stock-based compensation. See Note 12, “Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit)” of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

For further information on recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 2 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the accompanying consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible for and intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including (i) the exemption from the auditor attestation requirements with respect to internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) the exemptions from say-on-pay, say-on- frequency and say-on-golden parachute voting requirements and (iii) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common equity held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter; or (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we may adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-public companies instead of the dates required for other public companies.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (i) the market value of the shares of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (ii) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of the shares of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

On December 1, 2023, PACI and certain funds and accounts related to Blackrock, Inc. entered into the Amended and Restated Registration Rights and Stockholder Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), which became effective on the Closing Date. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act to permit the resale of shares of Common Stock held by the other parties to the Registration Rights Agreement within 45 days of the Closing Date and to use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof. This Registration Statement was filed to satisfy that obligation.

On the Closing Date, in connection with the Closing, Volato Group entered into Company Stockholder Lock-Up Agreements with each of Volato Group and each of PACI, Michael W. Zarlenga, Lisa Suennen, Steven P. Mullins, John C. Backus, Jr., Coleman Andrews, Thanasis Delistathis, Mark D. Lerdal, Argand Group, Athollo Rocket Holdings, LLC, Bruddy, LLC, Dega Family Holding, LLC, Hoop Capital LLC, Liotta Family Office, LLC, PDK Capital, LLC, and The Bailey Financial Group, LLC (the “Stockholder Parties” and the “Lock-Up Agreements”). Under the terms of the Lock-Up Agreements, the Stockholder Parties agreed, subject to certain customary exceptions, that during the period that is the earlier of (i) the date that is 180 days following the Closing Date and (ii) the date specified in a written waiver of the provisions of the Lock-Up Agreements duly executed by PASI and Volato Group, not to dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock subject to their respective Lock-Up Agreement, or take other related actions with respect to such shares. The shares of Common Stock subject to the Lock-Up Agreements include all such shares held by the Stockholder Parties.

In addition to the director and executive officer compensation arrangements discussed below under “Executive Officer and Director Compensation,” the following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2022, including currently proposed transactions to which we have been or are to be a party in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000, and in which any of our directors, executive officers or beneficial holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or their immediate family members or entities affiliated with them, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

On February 20, 2021, Argand Group, LLC (“Argand”) and Hoop Capital, LLC (“Hoop”), owned by Matthew Liotta and Nicholas Cooper, respectively, each purchased 3,932,500 shares of Volato’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $30,000, or approximately $0.0038 per share, pursuant to a Founders’ Stock Purchase Agreement. On November 15, 2022, Volato effected a two-for-one stock split for each outstanding share of its capital stock, resulting in an increase in the total number of shares of common stock held by each of Argand and Hoop from 3,932,500 to 7,865,000. On July 21, 2023, in connection with the issuance of Series A-1 Preferred Stock at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, Volato effected a reverse stock split pursuant to which each outstanding share of its common stock was reclassified as 0.434159 shares, in order to bring the price per share to a valuation comparable to the Series A-1 Preferred Stock, resulting in each of Argand and Hoop holding 3,414,660 shares of Common Stock.

In April 2022, Volato’s Board authorized an offering of convertible notes designated Series CN-001, up to an aggregate principal amount of $20.0 million (the “CN-001 Notes”), bearing interest at a rate of 5% per annum, with all principal and interest payable in kind at maturity or upon an earlier equity financing of not less than $10.0 million (a “Qualified Financing”) or other conversion event described in the CN-001 Notes. In a conversion pursuant to a Qualified Financing, the CN-001 Notes provide for a 15% conversion price discount and $80.0M conversion valuation cap.

In February 2023, Volato’s Board authorized a Series CN-002 convertible note offering up to an aggregate principal amount of $25.0 million (the “CN-002 Notes”), bearing interest at a rate of 4% per annum commencing

July 1, 2023, with all principal and interest due at maturity or payable in kind upon an earlier Qualified Financing or other conversion event described in the CN-002 Notes. In a conversion pursuant to a Qualified Financing, the CN-002 Notes provide for a 10% conversion price discount.

On July 21, 2023, Volato consummated a Qualified Financing (the Series A Preferred Stock offering described elsewhere herein), pursuant to which the CN-001 Notes converted into Series A-2 Preferred Stock at a conversion price of $5.982 per share and the CN-002 Notes converted into Series A-3 Preferred Stock at a conversion price of $9.00 per share.

Below are details of convertible notes issued to related persons in the Series CN-001 and CN-002 convertible note offerings, along with details of their conversion:

In December 2021, Dennis Liotta (Matthew Liotta’s father) extended a revolving line of credit providing Volato up to $8.0 million in financing pursuant to a loan agreement and promissory note (the “Liotta 2021 Note”) secured by all of Volato’s assets. The highest principal balance owed under the Liotta 2021 Note was $6.0 million in 2021, with $42,945 interest paid in 2021 and $15,111 interest payable in 2021. In 2022, the highest principal balance was $5.15 million with $490,650 of interest payable.

The Liotta 2021 Note matured by its terms on January 1, 2023. On March 15, 2023, the parties agreed to exchange the $5,321,406.75 in principal and interest then outstanding under the Liotta 2021 Note, plus a default satisfaction fee in the amount of $680,000, for a CN-002 Note in the principal amount of $6,001,407 on terms equal to other investors in the CN-002 Note offering.

In March 2023, in connection with the Liotta 2021 Note satisfaction negotiations, Dennis Liotta loaned Volato an additional $1.0 million pursuant to an unsecured term note bearing ten percent (10%) annual interest and maturing on March 31, 2024. This note has been repaid as of April 1, 2024.

Volato separately paid Dennis Liotta’s legal fees related to the Term Loan and satisfaction of the Liotta 2021 Note, in the amount of $31,887.

Ms. Jennifer Liotta is the spouse of Matthew Liotta, our Chief Executive Officer and Chair, and is employed as the Company’s General Counsel. Ms Liotta received total compensation of $160,000 in 2023. Ms. Liotta’ compensation was established by the Company in accordance with its compensation practices and without the involvement of Matthew Liotta.

Mr. John Liotta is the brother of Matthew Liotta, our Chief Executive Officer and Chair, and is employed as the Company’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Development. Mr John Liotta received total compensation of $122,500 in 2023. Mr. John Liotta’s compensation was established by the Company in accordance with its compensation practices and without the involvement of Matthew Liotta.

As part of Volato’s aircraft ownership program, G C Aviation leases a HondaJet HA-420 aircraft from Volato 158, LLC (“V158”), which is 25% owned by DCL H&I, LLC (“DCL”). Dennis Liotta (Matthew Liotta’s father) and his spouse own 100% of DCL. Under the terms of an aircraft dry lease, V158 pays G C Aviation a monthly management fee of $38,000, and GC Aviation pays V158 an hourly rental rate of $1,000 per revenue flight hour. The lease expires on August 20, 2026.

In connection with the V158 lease, G C Aviation provides Charter services to DCL on its fleet of HondaJets, pursuant to a services agreement. The agreement was in the normal course of business and terms were similar to those of Volato’s other customers who are members of V158 as of 2021.

Volato leased hangar and office space from Modern Aero, LLC (“Modern Aero”), a Florida limited liability company that operates a flight school at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine, Florida. Matthew and Jennifer Liotta hold a majority interest in Modern Aero. Volato paid $3,800 per month in rent under a month-to-month lease arrangement. This relationship has been terminated as of July 31, 2023.

During 2022 and until July 31, 2023, Volato provided payroll and benefits for several Modern Aero flight instructors and maintenance personnel, for which Modern Aero agreed to reimburse Volato at cost. In January 2024, Volato waived reimbursement of these costs in exchange for the assignment of the hangar lease.

On March 31, 2021, the Sponsor received 5,750,000 of Founder Shares for a payment of $25,000 made on May 4, 2021. On November 30, 2021, the Company effected a 1.2:1 stock split for each outstanding share of Class B Common Stock, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate number of 6,900,000 Founder Shares. Immediately prior to the Business Combination, there was 6,900,000 shares of Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding, of which 6,591,800 are held by our Sponsor and the PROOF.vc SPV, and the remaining 308,200 are held by BlackRock. In connection with the Business Combination, the Sponsor agreed to forfeit 26,421 shares of Class B Common Stock and, effective as of the Business Combination, all shares of Class B Common Stock were converted into shares of Class A Common Stock.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the Private Placement of 15,226,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor and Blackrock, generating proceeds of $15,226,000.

Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor was added to the proceeds from the IPO held in the Company’s prior trust account which was liquidated as of the Business Combination.

The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors or officers of corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties, subject to certain exceptions. The Amended Charter includes a provision that eliminates the personal liability of directors or officers for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer to the fullest extent permitted under the DGCL (including to the extent that the DGCL may subsequently be amended to further expand the scope of permissible exculpation of directors or officers under Delaware Law).

Section 145(a) of the DGCL provides, in general, that a corporation shall have the power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer, of corporation against expenses

(including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. In addition, Section 145(b) of the DGCL provides, in general, that a corporation shall have the power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor because the person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, against any expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to be indemnified for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper. Under Section 145(c) of the DGCL, present and former directors, and certain present and former officers, that have been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referenced in Section 145(a) or 145(b) of the DGCL, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, are entitled to mandatory indemnification against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.

The Amended Bylaws provide that the Company generally must indemnify the Company’s directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL (except that the Company is only obligated to indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Company’s Board) and advance expense to the Company’s directors and officers in the defense of actions, suits, or proceedings arising by reason of the fact of their corporate status. The Company also is expressly authorized to carry directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing indemnification for the Company directors, officers, and certain employees for some liabilities. The Company believes that these indemnification and advancement provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.

The limitation of liability, advancement and indemnification provisions in the Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing lawsuits against directors and officers for any alleged breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative or other litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit the Company and/or its stockholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent the Company pays the costs of the legal and other expenses of, and settlement and damage awards against directors and officer pursuant to these indemnification advancement provisions or to the extent that any current or former director or officer is exculpated from liability under these provisions.

There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding involving any of the Company’s directors, officers, or employees for which indemnification is sought.

Our audit committee reviews and approves all reimbursements and payments made to any initial stockholder or member of our management team, or our or their respective affiliates, and any reimbursements and payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our Board, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval.

No compensation or fees of any kind, including finder’s fees, consulting fees or other similar compensation, will be paid to any of our initial stockholders, officers or directors who owned our shares of common stock prior to this offering, or to any of their respective affiliates, prior to or with respect to the business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions, including the payment of any compensation, will require prior approval by a majority of our uninterested “independent” directors (to the extent we have any) or the members of our board who do not have an interest in the transaction, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not

enter into any such transaction unless our disinterested “independent” directors (or, if there are no “independent” directors, our disinterested directors) determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties.

Our code of ethics, which we have adopted, requires us to avoid, wherever possible, all related party transactions that could result in actual or potential conflicts of interests, except under guidelines approved by our Board (or the audit committee). Related-party transactions are defined as transactions in which (1) the aggregate amount involved will or may be expected to exceed the lesser of $120,000 in any calendar year or 2% of our total assets averaged across the last two most recently completed fiscal years; (2) we or any of our subsidiaries are a participant; and (3) any (a) executive officer, director or nominee for election as a director, (b) beneficial owner greater than 5% of our common stock or any other class or series of our securities, or (c) immediate family member, of the persons referred to in clauses (a) and (b), has or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than solely as a result of being a director or a less than 10% beneficial owner of another entity). A conflict of interest situation can arise when a person takes actions or has interests that may make it difficult to perform their work objectively and effectively. Conflicts of interest may also arise if a person, or a member of their family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of their position.

Our audit committee, pursuant to its written charter, is responsible for reviewing and approving related-party transactions to the extent we enter into such transactions. All ongoing and future transactions between us on the one hand, and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates on the other hand, will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions will require approval by our audit committee and a majority of our uninterested “independent” directors, or the members of our board who do not have an interest in the transaction, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not approve any such transaction unless our audit committee and a majority of our disinterested “independent” directors determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties. Additionally, we require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors and officers questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.

These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.

The following table lists the names and ages, as of July 22, 2024, and positions of the individuals who serve as executive officers and directors of Volato Group.

Matthew Liotta. Mr. Liotta co-founded Volato and has served as a Director and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Prior to co-founding Volato, in 2016, Mr. Liotta founded Agrify (NASDAQ: AGFY), an agricultural technology company where he served as President until 2019 and Chief Technology Officer from to 2019 to 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Liotta worked for several Silicon Valley venture capital backed portfolio companies, including gMoney Corporation, Yipes, TeamToolz, and DevX. Mr. Liotta has also held positions at Hudson Global, Pharmasset, and One Ring Networks. In 2019, Mr. Liotta also co-founded CEADS, a non-profit organization for the advancement of Controlled Environment Agriculture and served as its President until 2022. He currently serves as a Director for Fintainium, a cloud-based financial technology company that provides secure remote and mobile access for financial services. Volato Group believes Mr. Liotta is qualified to serve on the Board because of his significant operational and senior management experience.

Nicholas Cooper, CFA. Mr. Cooper co-founded Volato and has served as a Director and in various executive officer roles since its inception, including most recently as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to co-founding Volato, in 2016, Mr. Cooper founded TriGrow Systems, a venture backed technology services company where he served as Chief Executive Officer until the company was acquired by Agrify (NASDAQ: AGFY) in 2020. Prior to that, in 2015, Mr. Cooper founded Apptuto, a 500 Startups accelerator portfolio company focused on mobile-first consumer edtech, where he served as Chief Executive Officer until 2017. Before starting his entrepreneurial career, Mr. Cooper gained experience in investment banking serving as Investment Manager at Al Nahdha Investment and Abu Dhabi Capital Group, a prominent family office in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he was responsible for managing the Private Equity and Venture Capital portfolios from 2010 to 2015. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Cooper was a Senior Associate at Macquarie Bank, operating out of the London and Sydney offices. Mr. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Sydney Australia, where he was a resident of St. Johns College and Ellwood Scholarship recipient. Mr. Cooper is a CFA® charterholder, CFA Institute, and is a former Chartered Accountant and lapsed member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales. Volato Group believes Mr. Cooper is qualified to serve on the Board because of his significant investor relations and executive officer experience.

Michael Prachar. Mr. Prachar has served as Volato’s Chief Operating Officer since February 1, 2022. Prior to joining Volato, Mr. Prachar served as Chief Operating Officer of Big Green IT, an information technology and Microsoft cloud consulting business from 2015 to 2022. Prior to joining Big Green IT, Mr. Prachar built a 20-year operations career serving in a number of operations executive roles in the telecommunications and technology services industries, including Chief Operating Officer of LinkSource Technologies® from 2010 to 2015, President and Chief Operating Officer of Rapid Link, Inc. from 2006 to 2010, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Telenational Communications from 2001 to 2006 and Director of Operations for Intercontinental Exchange from 1995 to 1998. Mr. Prachar holds an Engineering Degree from the College for Recording Arts in San Francisco.

Steven Drucker. Mr. Drucker has served as Volato’s Chief Technology Officer since September 5, 2022. Prior to joining Volato, Mr. Drucker held several software executive roles for TriGrow Systems and, following an acquisition, Agrify (NASDAQ: AGFY), starting in July 2018 and rising to the position of Chief Information Officer

in early 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Drucker founded Fig Leaf Software in 1995 and served as its President until 2018, leading the company which focuses on web development consulting and training for Fortune 100 companies. Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mark Heinen. Mr. Heinen has served as Volato’s Chief Financial Officer since November 28, 2023. Bringing over 25 years of finance and accounting experience, Mr. Heinen previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Better Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: BTTX). Prior to that, he served as the SVP, Global Corporate Controller, and interim Chief Financial Officer at Trintech, Inc. He has served in leadership positions in both publicly traded and private technology companies. Mr. Heinen's career began in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a B.B.A. in accounting and an M.B.A from the University of Oklahoma and is a certified public accountant.

There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of the Board of Directors (the “Board”). Mr. Liotta is the Chairman of the Board. Subject to the terms of our Certificate of Incorporation, the Board may fix, by one or more resolutions adopted from time to time by the Board, the number of directors on the Board. The Board consists of five members. In accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation, the Board is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following their election. The following sets forth the classification of the Board and term of each class member:

Currently, Class I consists of Directors Cooper and Liotta, Class II currently consists of no directors, and Class III consists of Directors Burger and Nichols. On June 4, 2024, Director Fred Colen informed the Board of his intention to resign as a director of the Board, effective immediately. Mr. Colen’s resignation was not the result of any dispute or disagreement with the Company or the Board on any matter relating to the operations, policies, or practices of the Company.

Christopher Burger. Mr. Burger has served as a Director of Volato Group since April 23, 2024, and served as a Senior Advisor from 2022 to 2024. Since 2020, Mr. Burger has served as Founder & Managing Director of Transform, a business consulting firm. From July 2018 to April 2020, he served as the Vice President of Global Technology and Global Chief Information Officer Chief of Staff at IHG Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHG), and as a strategic advisor to the company’s Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining IHG Hotels & Resorts, Mr. Burger served as the Group Head of Technology & Innovation and Group Chief Information Technology Officer Chief of Staff at Etihad Aviation Group in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2015 to 2018. Prior to joining Etihad Aviation Group, Mr. Burger built a career serving in a number of operations and consulting roles in the aviation and technology services industries. Mr. Burger holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a distinction in Marketing from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Mr. Burger is qualified to serve on the Board because of his organizational experience and expertise in technology, innovation, and business consulting across aviation and hospitality industries.

Michael Nichols. Mr. Nichols has served as a Director of Volato since August 19, 2021 and as the Chief Executive Officer of the Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots Association (PMOPA) since September 2022. In September 2021, Mr. Nichols founded Flieger Strategies, LLC, an aviation and business strategy consultancy, where he continues to serve as President. Previously, Mr. Nichols was a senior executive with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), where he served in several executive roles over the course of an 18-year tenure from 2003 to 2021, most recently as its Senior Vice President of Strategy & Innovation. He continues to serve as a director on the NBAA’s Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board. In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Nichols has earned Certified Aviation Manager

(CAM), Certified Association Executive (CAE) and Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) credentials. Mr. Nichols is qualified to serve on the Board because of his extensive experience as an aviation association executive.

Because the Common Stock is listed on the NYSE American, we are required to comply with the applicable rules of such exchange in determining whether a director is independent. The Board has determined, based on information provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations, that each of Mr. Burger and Mr. Nichols qualifies as independent as defined under the applicable NYSE American and SEC rules. In making these determinations, the Board considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with the Company and all other facts and circumstances the Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership or our Common Stock held by each non-employee director.

The Board directs the management of our business and affairs, as provided by Delaware law, and conducts its business through meetings of the Board and standing committees. The standing committees are the audit committee (the “Audit Committee”), the compensation committee (the “Compensation Committee”) and the nominating and corporate governance committee (the “Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee”). In addition, each committee reviews and assesses the adequacy of its charter and submits its charter to the board of directors for approval. Copies of each committee’s charter are posted on our website at https://ir.flyvolato.com/corporate-governance/board-committees under the “Investor Relations” section. The information contained on or that can be accessed through our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider such information to be part of this prospectus.

The Audit Committee of our Board is composed of Directors Burger and Nichols, each of whom is an independent director under the NYSE American listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Director Nichols serves as the chairman of the Audit Committee. Each member of the Audit Committee is financially literate, and our Board has determined that Director Nichols qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules. None of the Audit Committee members serves on the audit committee of more than three public companies.

The Audit Committee will:

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board is composed of Directors Burger and Nichols, each of whom is an independent director, and Director Burger serves as the chairperson of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

The primary function of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee include:

Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees. The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the committee charter, provide that persons to be nominated:

The Compensation Committee of our Board is composed of Directors Burger and Nichols, each of whom is an independent director, while Director Nichols serves as the chairman of the Compensation Committee. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the Compensation Committee, including:

The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel, or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel, or any other adviser, the Compensation Committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE American and the SEC.

No person who has served as a member of the Compensation Committee during the last completed fiscal year (i) was, during that fiscal year, an officer or employee of Volato Group, (ii) was formerly an officer of Volato Group or (iii) had any relationship requiring disclosure by Volato Group under any paragraph of Item 404 of Regulation S-K.

No executive officer of Volato Group served as a member of the Compensation Committee (or other board committee performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee, the entire board of directors) of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on the Compensation Committee (or other board committee performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee, the entire board of directors) of Volato Group.

No executive officer of Volato Group served as a director of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on the Compensation Committee (or other board committee performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee, the entire board of directors) of Volato Group.

No executive officer of Volato Group served as a member of the Compensation Committee (or other board committee performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee, the entire board of directors) of another entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director of Volato Group.

The Corporate Governance Guidelines adopted by the Board, which include guidelines for determining director independence, are published on the Volato Group’s website at http://ir.flyvolato.com, in the “Governance-Governance Documents” section, and are available in print to any stockholder upon request. That section of the website makes available the Volato Group’s corporate governance materials, including Board committee charters. Those materials are also available in print to any stockholder upon request.

All directors, officers and employees of the Volato Group are expected to act ethically at all times and in accordance with the policies comprising our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (the “Code”) which is available on our website at http://ir.flyvolato.com, in the “Governance-Governance Documents” section, and is available in print to any stockholder upon request. Any waiver or any implicit waiver from a provision of the Code applicable to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, or any amendment to the Code must be approved by the Board. We will disclose on our website amendments to, and, if any are granted, any such waiver of, the Code. Our Audit Committee is responsible for applying the Code to specific situations in which questions are presented to it and has the authority to interpret the Code in any particular situation. If, after investigating any potential breach of the Code reported to it, the Audit Committee determines (by majority decision) that a breach has occurred, it will inform the Board of Directors. Upon being notified that a breach has occurred, the Board (by majority decision) will take or authorize such disciplinary or preventive action as it deems appropriate, after consultation with the Audit Committee and/or the Volato Group’s General Counsel, up to and including dismissal or, in the event of criminal or other serious violations of law, notification of the SEC or other appropriate law enforcement authorities.

During the past ten years, we are not aware of any events that have occurred that are material to an evaluation of the ability or integrity of any executive officer, key employee or director of the Company, other than as follows.

Mr. Liotta was the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of PodPonics, Inc. in May 2016 when that company made a voluntary filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 7.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act and a “smaller reporting company” as defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Act. As such, we have opted to comply with the executive compensation disclosure rules applicable to such companies. By doing so, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These include, but are not limited to, exemptions from certain narrative and tabular disclosure obligations regarding executive and director compensation in connection with our obligations under this Registration Statement, including the requirement to include a Compensation Discussion and Analysis, scaled financial reporting, as well as exemptions from the requirements to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and obtain stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Consistent with the scaled disclosure available to emerging growth companies, the following table sets forth information about the compensation paid to Volato’s principal executive officer, and its two other most highly compensated executive officers, for services rendered for the year ended December 31, 2022 (i.e., pre-Business Combination). These executives are referred to as the “named executive officers.”

Volato’s executive compensation philosophy is rooted in our company values, which emphasize transparency. Therefore, we seek to establish a compensation structure that is easily understood and applied. Our successful compensation structure rewards performance for living and demonstrating Volato’s values, achieving challenging objectives that propel the company forward, and driving shareholder value, while ensuring the sustainability and long-term viability and value of the company. Compensation not only rewards performance, it is an essential tool that can be deployed to attract and retain top talent that will deliver results for shareholders.

The compensation plan, as with all other business plans, will be reviewed and adjusted at regular intervals consistent with the market, business achievements, pay equity, experience, and individual negotiations. Volato engaged an independent compensation consultant to help advise on the executive compensation program. Base pay adjustments reflect job duties, responsibilities, and macroeconomic drivers. Short-term and long-term incentive compensation (i.e., bonus and equity) reward performance towards objectives and enhancing shareholder value.

Volato Group has entered into employment agreements with each of the named executive officers, in order to promote retention and service following the Closing, to incentivize the executives to continue to grow the company and its market position, and to better reflect each executive’s value to Volato Group and its stakeholders. These agreements became effective on December 1, 2023.

Matthew Liotta. Mr. Liotta’s employment agreement provides for him to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Volato Group at an annual base salary of $310,000.

Keith Rabin. Mr. Rabin’s employment agreement provides for him to serve as President of Volato Group at an annual base salary of $300,000.

Nicholas Cooper. Mr. Cooper’s employment agreement provides for him to serve as Chief Commercial Officer of Volato Group at an annual base salary of $290,000.

Pursuant to the employment agreements, for each calendar year of the term, each named executive officer will be eligible to receive an annual target bonus in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the executive’s base salary (each, an “annual bonus”), with an opportunity to receive a maximum bonus of 200% of the executive’s base salary, based on the achievement of such performance factors and such other terms and conditions as may be established by the Board and/or the Compensation Committee, The employment agreements also provide that, depending on results, the executive’s actual bonus may be higher or lower than the target bonus amount. The decision to award any annual bonus and the amount and terms of any annual bonus will be in the sole discretion of the Board or the Compensation Committee. Due to their respective employment agreements becoming effective on December 1, 2023, the named executive officers were not eligible to receive an annual bonus related to the calendar year ended December 31, 2023.

The employment agreements provide that each executive would be granted an equity award (the “initial award”) for such number of shares of the common stock as may be determined by the Board and/or the Committee. The initial award includes a performance-based vesting condition, pursuant to which (i) thirty percent (30%) of the number of shares of common stock subject to the initial award shall vest and, if applicable, become exercisable upon the market price of the common stock (as determined based on trading on an applicable stock exchange) being equal to or exceeding $12.50 per share for thirty (30) consecutive trading days, and the remaining seventy percent (70%) of the number of shares of common stock subject to the initial award shall vest and, if applicable, become exercisable upon the market price of the common stock being equal to or exceeding $15.00 per share for thirty (30) consecutive trading days. As of the date hereof, the Board has not yet granted the initial award to the named executive officers. When granted, each initial award will be subject to the Company’s 2023 Stock Incentive Plan (such plan, as it may be amended and/or restated, the “2023 Plan”) and an applicable award agreement which shall contain such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Board and/or the Committee. Following the grant of the initial award, during the employment agreement term, each executive will be eligible to participate in the 2023 Plan on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Board and/or the Committee in its or their discretion.

The named executive officers are entitled to participate in employee benefit plans of Volato and Volato Group provided for all employees of the two companies, such as a 401(k) plan, life insurance, group health insurance and disability insurance. Volato currently pays for 100% of health insurance premiums for employees and 75% for dependents. All benefit plans are subject to change at the company’s discretion.

Each employment agreement has a one-year term commencing upon the Closing of the Business Combination, with automatic renewal for an additional six months, unless either party provides 30 days’ notice not to renew. In the event employment is terminated by Volato or Volato Group without “Cause” or by the named executive officer for

“Good Reason,” Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, will pay the following severance payments and benefits: (i) for each named executive officer, an amount equal to one (1) times the sum of such officer’s then-current base salary, payable on the regular payroll dates of Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, over a period of 12 months following termination, (ii) reimbursement for the cost of COBRA premiums or other health insurance that the named executive officer may elect for such officer and eligible dependents for up to 12 months. All such payments and benefits are conditioned upon the named executive officer’s compliance with the Covenants Agreement, and execution and non-revocation of a release of claims in the favor of Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, within 60 days following termination of employment.

For purposes of the employment agreements, the term “Cause” means the occurrence of any of the following by the named executive officer, which is not cured (if capable of cure) within 10 days after receipt of written notice from Volato or Volato Group, as applicable: (i) willful or material failure to perform duties (other than a failure resulting from incapacity due to physical or mental illness); (ii) willful failure to comply with any valid and legal directive of the Board or CEO; (iii) dishonesty, illegal conduct or other misconduct, which is, in each case, materially injurious to Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, or their affiliates; (iv) embezzlement, misappropriation or fraud, whether or not related to employment; (v) conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a crime that constitutes a felony (or state law equivalent) or a crime that constitutes a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; (vi) material violation of the written policies or codes of conduct of Volato or Volato Group; (vii) material breach of any written agreement with Volato or Volato Group; (viii) conduct that brings or is reasonably likely to bring the Companies negative publicity or into public disgrace, embarrassment or disrepute; or (ix) the knowing misstatement of the financial records of Volato or Volato Group or complicit actions in respect thereof, or knowing failure to disclose material financial or other information to the Board.

In addition, the term “Good Reason” means, without the named executive officer’s consent, the occurrence of any of the following, which is not cured by Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, within 30 days after its receipt of written notice provided within 15 days of the existence of any such event: (i) a material reduction in base salary (other than a reduction that affects all similarly situated executives in substantially the same proportions); (ii) a material and adverse breach by Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, of any material provision of the employment agreement; (iii) a material and adverse change in title, authority, duties, reporting relationships or responsibilities (other than temporarily while the named executive officer is physically or mentally incapacitated). If employment is not terminated for Good Reason within sixty (60) days after the first occurrence of the applicable grounds, then the named executive officer will be deemed to have waived the right to terminate for Good Reason with respect to such grounds.

If the named executive officer’s employment is terminated due to “Disability,” Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, will pay, in addition to any other accrued or vested payments or benefits, (i) a severance payment equal to 1 times the sum of such officer’s then-current base salary, payable on the regular payroll dates of Volato or Volato Group, as applicable, over a period of 12 months beginning with the first regular payroll payment date that occurs on or after sixty (60) days following termination. Under the employment agreements, the term “Disability” means the inability to perform the essential duties of the position, with or without any reasonable accommodations, because of mental or physical illness, injury, impairment or incapacity for a period in excess of ninety (90) consecutive days in any calendar year.

The following table summarizes the outstanding equity awards held by our named executive officers (our “NEOs”) as of December 31, 2023.

Other than with respect to Matthew Liotta, our Chair and CEO, and Nicholas Cooper, our Chief Commercial Officer, each of whose compensation as such is reflected on the Summary Compensation Table above, the table below details the compensation paid to our directors for their service as a director during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Commencing in 2024, the Board adopted a director compensation policy applicable to Volato Group directors. Under the policy, the Company will pay each non-employee director $57,500 in cash for his or her service for 2024. Also, the Chair of the Board or, if the Chair is an employee, the Lead Independent Director, will receive an additional annual retainer of $50,000. The chairs of each of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will receive an annual committee chair's fee of $20,000, $14,500 and $10,000, respectively, payable in cash, and each non-chair member of each of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will receive an annual committee member’s fee of $10,000, $6,125 and $5,000, respectively, payable in cash. The cash compensation generally is payable in quarterly installments, and adjusted on a pro rata basis in the event that service as a director, Board committee member, Board committee chair, Board chair or lead independent director commences or terminates during the course of a calendar year. As described below, the non-employee directors received cash fees for their service on the post-Business Combination Volato board of directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Mr. Liotta and Mr. Cooper do not receive fees for service on the Board.

Additionally, other than Matthew Liotta, our Chair and CEO, and Nicholas Cooper, our Chief Commercial Officer, each of whose compensation is reflected on the Summary Compensation Table above, the directors of pre-Business Combination Volato, Inc. included independent directors Joan Sullivan Garrett, Michael D. Nichols, and Robert George (whose Board service ended upon the Closing of the Business Combination). These directors earned cash compensation for their service as a director during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 in the following annualized amounts, calculated on a pro-rated basis from April 1, 2023 (or later start of service date) to December 31, 2023 or earlier end of service and to be paid in one lump sum no later than April 30, 2024: $57,500 for his or her Volato, Inc. board service; an additional $50,000 for service as Chair of the board starting on July 1, 2023; an additional $14,500 for service as chair of the Compensation Working Group Committee, a committee appointed by the board to evaluate director and executive officer compensation; and an additional $6,125 for service as a member of the Compensation Working Group Committee. Ms. Garrett received $68,125 for services as (i) a board member from April 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024, (ii) chairperson from July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, and (iii) a member of the compensation working group from April 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. Director Nichols served as (i) a board member from April 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024, and (ii) Chairperson and member of the Compensation Working Group Committee from July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, earning $58,594; and Mr. George joined on July 1, 2023 and served as a member of the Compensation Working Group Committee from

July 1, 2023 through December 2, 2023, earning $26,510. Amounts paid to Mr. Nichols and Ms. Garrett for services in December of 2023 are inclusive of and in lieu of any payments to be made to them for services as directors of the Volato Group, Inc. board for that month.

The 2021 Plan was assumed by PACI prior to Closing and was previously the sole equity compensation plan for Volato.

Following Closing, the 2021 Plan continued on its own terms, except that following the effective time:

Purpose and Eligibility. The 2021 Plan’s purposes are carried out by the granting of awards to selected eligible individuals. Awards under the 2021 Plan may be granted to selected employees, directors, and consultants of the Company or its affiliates in the discretion of the Administrator. Only employees are eligible to receive incentive stock options.

The 2021 Plan became effective on August 13, 2021 and will remain in effect until August 12, 2031 unless terminated earlier by the Board (although, once the 2023 Plan was approved by the stockholders, no further grants were made under the 2021 Plan). The 2021 Plan was amended and restated in connection with the assumption by PACI to reflect the effect of the Business Combination Agreement by modifying eligibility as described above, to reflect PACI’s assumption of the 2021 Plan, to clarify that Common Stock will be issued under the 2021 Plan, and to adjust the number of shares issuable under the 2021 Plan by the exchange ratio of 1.01508 (the “Exchange Ratio”), and to make other minor technical revisions.

No awards were granted, or will be granted under the 2021 Plan after the 2023 Plan Effective Date. Awards granted under the 2021 Plan that will be outstanding on the 2023 Plan Effective Date will be accelerated or continued in accordance with their terms subject to vesting schedules pursuant to the applicable restricted stock award agreement or option agreement; provided that, in each case, the participant continues to be employed or in service with Volato or an affiliate through each applicable vesting date.

Administration; Amendment and Termination. Following the Business Combination, the Compensation Committee, subject to PACI Board oversight, became the Administrator of the 2021 Plan. To the extent required under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, the Compensation Committee consists solely of two or more “non-employee” directors as that term is defined in Rule 16b-3, or as may otherwise be permitted under Rule 16b-3.

The 2021 Plan and awards made under the 2021 Plan may be amended, suspended, or terminated at any time by the Administrator, with respect to awards, subject to the following: (a) stockholder approval of any 2021 Plan amendment if required by applicable laws, rules, or regulations, and (b) except as otherwise provided in the 2021 Plan, an amendment or termination of an award may not materially adversely affect the rights of the recipient of the award without the recipient’s consent.

Share Limitations. The 2021 Plan authorizes the issuance of 2,724,347 shares (subject to adjustment for anti-dilution purposes), all of which may be issued under the 2021 Plan pursuant to incentive stock options. As described above, as a result of the Business Combination Agreement, this limit was adjusted by the Exchange Ratio. As of the date of the Business Combination Agreement on December 1, 2023, 2,350,960 shares were subject to outstanding awards, and no shares remained available for the grant of awards.

Types of Awards. The types of awards authorized under the 2021 Plan are described below and include: stock options in the form of nonqualified options and incentive stock options and restricted stock awards. Subject to the terms of the 2021 Plan, the Administrator has broad authority to determine the terms and conditions of awards.

Awards may be granted under the 2023 Plan until December 1, 2033, unless earlier terminated by the Board or the Compensation Committee, but no incentive stock options may be granted after November 28, 2033.

The following paragraphs provide a summary of principal features of the 2023 Plan and its operation. However, this summary is not a complete description of all provisions of the 2023 Plan and is qualified in its entirety by the specific language of the 2023 Plan.

The 2023 Plan includes several features that our Board believes reflect responsible compensation and governance practices and promote the interests of our stockholders, including the following “best practices:”

The 2023 Plan became effective upon the 2023 Plan Effective Date and will remain in effect until the tenth anniversary minus one day of the 2023 Plan Effective Date unless terminated earlier by our Board.

The maximum aggregate number of shares that we may issue pursuant to awards granted under the 2023 Plan may not exceed 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock as of the date of Closing. Of the amount described in the preceding sentence, no more than 20% of the post-Closing total shares of our Class A Common Stock may be issued under the 2023 Plan pursuant to the grant of incentive stock options (subject to adjustment for anti-dilution purposes as described below).

If an award is canceled, terminates, expires, is forfeited or lapses for any reason, any unissued or forfeited shares subject to the award will again be available for issuance pursuant to awards granted under the 2023 Plan. The following also are not included in calculating the 2023 Plan share limitations described above: (a) awards which are settled in cash and (b) dividends, including dividends paid in shares, or dividend equivalents paid in connection with outstanding awards. If the full number of shares subject to an award is not issued for by reason of the failure to achieve maximum performance factors or other criteria, only the number of shares issued and delivered will be considered for purposes of determining the number of shares remaining available for issuance pursuant to awards granted under the 2023 Plan.

In addition, (i) shares issued under the 2023 Plan through the settlement, assumption or substitution of outstanding awards granted by another entity or obligations to grant future awards as a condition of or in connection with a merger, acquisition or similar transaction involving our acquisition of another entity will not reduce the maximum number of shares available for delivery under the 2023 Plan, and (ii) available shares under a stockholder approved plan of an acquired company (as appropriately adjusted to reflect the transaction) may be used for awards under the 2023 Plan and will not reduce the maximum number of shares available under the 2023 Plan, subject, in the case of both (i) and (ii), to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, if any.

The following shares may not again be made available for issuance as awards under the 2023 Plan: any shares (a) withheld or delivered to satisfy the tax withholding requirements for an award or withheld or delivered to pay the exercise price related to an option or SAR, (b) not issued or delivered as a result of the net settlement of an award or (c) repurchased on the open market with the portion of the proceeds of the exercise of an option that does not exceed the exercise price.

The number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2023 Plan and the terms of outstanding awards may be adjusted in the event of an adjustment in the capital structure of Volato Group (such as adjustments due to a merger, stock split, stock dividend or similar event), as provided in the 2023 Plan.

The 2023 Plan will be administered by our Compensation Committee subject to the oversight of our Board. Each member of our Compensation Committee is intended to be independent under applicable US Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 16b-3 and the NYSE American company guide. Our Board and Compensation Committee are also referred to in this discussion collectively as the “Administrator.” Our Board may delegate powers of the Administrator to one or more officers who are not subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, subject to applicable law and limitations set by the PACI Board.

Subject to the terms of the 2023 Plan, the Administrator’s authority includes but is not limited to the authority to: (a) determine all matters relating to awards, including selection of individuals to be granted awards, the types of awards, the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock, if any, subject to an award, the vesting conditions applicable to an award, and the other terms, conditions, restrictions and limitations of an award; (b) prescribe the form or forms of agreements evidencing awards granted under the 2023 Plan; (c) establish, amend and rescind rules and regulations for the administration of the 2023 Plan; (d) correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the 2023 Plan or in any award or award agreement, including unilateral authority to amend the Plan to comply with applicable law; and (e) construe and interpret the 2023 Plan, awards and award agreements made

under the 2023 Plan, interpret rules and regulations for administering the 2023 Plan and make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for administering the 2023 Plan. Vesting conditions may vary among individuals and may include attainment of performance objectives, continued service or employment for a specified period, or other provisions related to the purpose of the compensation and may provide for acceleration of vesting upon retirement, disability, death or other conditions specified by the Administrator. Performance measures may vary among individuals and will be based upon such performance factors or criteria as the Administrator determines.

The Administrator also has the authority (a) to accelerate the date on which awards become exercisable, vest or are considered to be earned, to adjust or modify performance factors or criteria and (c) to adjust the terms or conditions of awards in response to or in anticipation of extraordinary items, transactions, events or developments impacting us or our financial statements, or changes in applicable law.

The 2023 Plan and awards made under the 2023 Plan may be amended, suspended or terminated at any time by our Board (or the Administrator, with respect to awards). However, stockholder approval of any 2023 Plan amendment is required if required by applicable laws, rules or regulations, and, except as otherwise provided in the 2023 Plan, an amendment or termination of an award may not materially adversely affect the rights of the recipient of the award without the recipient’s consent; provided, however, that recipient consent is not required when such change is necessary to comply with applicable law or changes to applicable law. In addition, and except for adjustments made pursuant to a change in our Class A Common Stock pursuant to a merger, consolidation, recapitalization or reorganization, or if our Board declares a stock dividend, stock split distributable in shares of our Class A Common Stock, reverse stock split, other distribution (other than an ordinary or regular cash dividend) or combination or reclassification of our Class A Common Stock, or if there is a similar change in our capital stock structure affecting our common stock (excluding conversion of convertible securities and/or the exercise of warrants by their holders, or in connection with a change of control), stockholder approval is required to take any action with respect to an option or SAR “repricing,” that is, (i) amending the terms of outstanding options or SARs to reduce the exercise price, (ii) exchanging outstanding options or SARs for cash, options or SARs with an exercise price that is less than the exercise price of the original option or SAR or for other equity awards at a time when the original option or SAR has an exercise price above the fair market value of our common stock or (iii) other action that would be treated as a repricing under any applicable stock exchange rules (other than adjustments for anti-dilution purposes).

The types of awards authorized under the 2023 Plan are described below and include: restricted stock awards; restricted stock units; incentive stock options; nonqualified stock options; SARs, which may be granted to the holder of an option with respect to all or a portion of the shares of our Class A Common Stock subject to the option or may be granted separately to an eligible individual; performance awards, which may be either performance shares or performance units; phantom stock awards; other cash-based and stock-based awards; and dividend equivalent awards. Subject to the terms of the 2023 Plan, the Administrator has broad authority to determine the terms and conditions of awards. All awards that constitute “nonqualified deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code must comply with the restrictions imposed by that section.

Pursuant to Section 422 of the Code and the terms of the 2023 Plan, in no event may there first become exercisable by a participant in any one calendar year incentive options granted by us with respect to shares having an aggregate fair market value (determined at the time an option is granted) greater than $100,000. To the extent that an incentive option granted under the 2023 Plan exceeds this limitation, the excess will be treated as a nonqualified option.

The exercise price is payable in cash or cash equivalent, or, except where prohibited by the Administrator or applicable law, by delivery of shares of our common stock owned by the participant, withholding of shares upon exercise of the option, delivery to a broker of written notice of exercise and irrevocable instructions to promptly deliver to us the amount of sale or loan proceeds to pay the exercise price or by such other payment methods as may be approved by the Administrator and which are acceptable under applicable law (or any combination of these methods).

The Administrator will determine the terms and conditions of an option, the period or periods during which an individual may exercise an option and any conditions on the ability of an individual to exercise an option. The option period may not exceed 10 years (or five years with respect to an incentive stock option granted to an employee who owns stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of Volato Group or a parent, subsidiary, as provided in the 2023 Plan). Options are exercisable after termination of employment only to the extent specified by the Administrator in grants of individual awards. The Administrator may, consistent with the terms of the Plan and Section 409A of the Code, accelerate the date on which options become vested or exercisable.

The Administrator will determine, subject to the terms of the 2023 Plan, the performance objectives and other conditions applicable to each performance award. Unless otherwise specified by the Administrator, the recipient of performance units will forfeit upon separation from service any units whose objectives have not been attained at that time. Performance measures may vary between individuals and be based upon such performance factors or criteria as the Administrator determines. The Administrator may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the date that performance units granted to any recipient are deemed to have been earned in whole or in part.

Upon exercise, the holder of a SAR is entitled to receive consideration equal to the number of shares with respect to which the SAR is exercised multiplied by the excess, if any, of the fair market value of a share of our Class A Common Stock on the date of exercise of the SAR over the base price. The base price of a related SAR equals the exercise price of its related option. The base price of a freestanding SAR equals the fair market value of our Class A Common Stock on the date of grant of the SAR. The preceding exercise price restrictions do not apply to certain SARs assumed or substituted in a merger or other transaction where the exercise price is adjusted in accordance with applicable tax regulations.

Payment to the SAR holder may be made in cash, shares of Class A Common Stock (valued at fair market value on the date of the SAR exercise) or a combination of cash and shares of Class A Common Stock, as determined by the Administrator.