50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

$115 Million Capital Injection Boosts Wheels Up

Download: Printable PDF Date: 28 Sep 2015 13:30 (UTC) category:
Publisher:
$115 Million Capital Injection Boosts Wheels Up - Business aviation publisher
Tatjana Obrazcova
Source: AIN

A group of financial institutions led by T. Rowe Price this morning announced a $115 million capital injection for private flight membership program Wheels Up. The investment is backed by Fidelity Management and Research Company and NEA, and, according to a statement from the two-year old company, values it at $500 million.

Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter said that the new funds will support further expansion of the company’s U.S. operations, as well as its plan to begin operations in Europe and the development of new technology platforms, such as its Wheels App member-to-member flight sharing feature.

With flights operated for it by Gama Aviation, the Wheels Up fleet now includes 45 Beechcraft King Air 350i twin turboprops and 10 Cessna Citation Excel/XLS jets. As of late September, Wheels Up membership totaled 1,600.

“We believe Wheels Up has the rare combination of experienced entrepreneurs, business model innovation and a strong financial model,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price. “Wheels Up has developed network density and provides real customer value. It has the potential to be a much larger company,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price.





Recommended

Embraer and Austrian Airlines strengthen E-Jets fleet support with new component pool agreement

Embraer and Austrian Airlines have signed a Component Pool Program agreement to support the carrier’s fleet of 13 E195 aircraft. Under the agreement, Austrian Airlines will gain access to Embrae...

HALO-Flight expands Texas Air Med fleet with additional Bell 407GXi helicopter order

HALO-Flight is set to further expand its South Texas air medical capabilities following the order of an additional Bell 407GXi announced by Bell Textron at AMTC 2026. The new aircraft will bring the o...

Jet Excellence upgrades Citation X fleet with Gogo Galileo HDX connectivity

Jet Excellence, a leading U.S. charter operator, will retrofit its entire fleet of Cessna Citation X aircraft with the advanced Gogo Galileo HDX connectivity solution. To support the fleet-w...

Western Aircraft marks dual Pilatus milestones with 300th PC-12 delivery and 30 years of authorized sales & service excellence

Western Aircraft, an Authorized Pilatus Center and Greenwich AeroGroup company, is celebrating a trio of significant achievements in 2026 that underscore its enduring partnership with Pilatus. The mil...

Android Apps development in Riga, Latvia