Page 6 - Volume 13 Number 12

Dr. Elisa Port, Director of
the Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai and Chief, Breast Surgery, Mount Sinai Health System accompanied the Wheels Up team to Wichita, Kansas, when the first Wheels Up Cares King Air 350i was delivered. “I had the chance to meet many of the people on the assembly line and a woman there had recently died of breast cancer,” she recalls. “Everyone who had worked on the line had her in their thoughts while finishing this pink airplane. It became a labor of love and the airplane connects with people.”
(Photo credit: Mount Sinai Health System)
The custom livery has turned pink, teal, red and, as of last month, camouflage to create one special edition Wheels Up airplane in four of the past five years. The camo airplane rolled out during National Veteran and Military Families Month to honor those in the military who bravely served and continue to serve.
Each of the four aircraft rep­ resenting Wheels Up Cares supports a nonprofit organization financially and by making passengers and fellow aviators aware of the cause when they see the unique color scheme. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also known by its acronym TAPS, offers compassionate care to anyone grieving the death of a loved one who died while serving in the military, including by suicide.
Dave Kaufman, Wheels Up co­ founder and chief flight officer, said the company created Wheels Up Cares to meet what the leadership team felt was a corporate responsibility to use their platform to support and help others.
“We hope to add one or two a year to the fleet that will be there permanently and that speak to a cause that our membership supports,” he said. “For example, the teal plane is in support of the Janet Burros Memorial Foundation and the inspiration comes from Wheels Up members Mara Sandler, who is Janet Burros’ daughter and advocate, and Mara’s husband, Ricky. With the camo plane, many of our employees as well as the pilots assigned by Gama Aviation that fly Wheels Up aircraft have served or have loved ones that have served in the military.”
There was also a connection between Wheels Up and TAPS. Admiral Mike Mullen, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who served as the 17th chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, is
a senior strategic advisor to Wheels Up and his wife serves on the TAPS board of directors.
4 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2019