AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 48
PILOT BRIEFING
INDUSTRY NEWS |
Wheels Up goes big
Business partners with Delta Private Jets-and buys Gama Aviation
BY THOMAS A. HORNE
IN 2019, Wheels Up Founder and CEO Kenny Dichter was on a roll.
"We're in full deal mode," he said. He wasn't kidding. In January
2020 Wheels Up, launched as an air charter membership business, formed a partnership with Delta Air Lines that will allow
Wheels Up and Delta's Delta Private Jets (DPJ) member-customers access to both companies' fleets of private aircraft. The
combination creates one of the world's largest owned and managed fleets of nearly 200 private aircraft, ranging from the King
Air 350i to large-cabin jets.
With this expanded private fleet and access to Delta's global
network, Wheels Up is strategically positioned to fulfill every
travel need of its now 8,000-plus members and customers.
Partnership benefits and other program features will soon follow. For example, Wheels Up members will be eligible to earn
Delta Medallion status, accrue miles in Delta's SkyMiles loyalty
program, and use Wheels Up Fund program balances to pay for
Wheels Up private and Delta commercial flights. Likewise, Delta
Private Jets customers will have the opportunity to receive exclusive Wheels Up membership offerings, experiences, and access to
the Wheels Up fleet.
Now comes news of another deal that will make Wheels Up
one of the largest aircraft management companies in the world,
second only to NetJets, with its fleet of some 750 airplanes. In
March, the company acquired Gama Aviation LLC (doing business
48 | AOPA PILOT May 2020
as Gama Aviation Signature). Gama Aviation is a private aviation
services company that provides management and charter services
for its own aircraft. Gama Aviation Signature also has been the
exclusive operator of Wheels Up's fleet of King Air 350i, Citation
Excel/XLS, and Citation X airplanes ever since Wheels Up was
established in 2013.
Now that Wheels Up has added Gama Aviation Signature, its
owned and managed fleet has instantly grown to more than 300
airplanes.
"This transaction supports our long-term vision for the
future of Wheels Up, and as we continue to build the fleet and
offer aircraft management services, we are uniquely positioned
in the market with a full ecosystem for all private aviation needs,"
Dichter said. "We welcome Gama and their pilots into our Wheels
Up family as a natural step based on the successful history of our
two companies."
According to a Wheels Up statement, Gama Aviation Signature
will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Wheels Up and
continue to provide the same service to existing aircraft management and charter customers out of its current location in
Shelton, Connecticut. Financial terms of the transaction will not
be disclosed.
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - BB1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - BB2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - 7
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2020 - Cover4
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