Page 8 - Volume 13 Number 12

How the initiative works
After the unveiling of each Wheels Up Cares aircraft, the company makes a donation to the supported organization or organizations it is collaborating with. All pilots flying Wheels Up planes wear lapel pins throughout that initial month that match the airplane’s color.
After their introduction, the aircraft remain in the Wheels Up fleet so that their eye­catching paint schemes will continue to raise awareness for each cause.
“Wheels Up creates educational materials that are placed onboard each of the four planes in the program,” Kaufman said. “We want every member and their passengers to understand the significance of the special aircraft and to have information on the philanthropic partner that the aircraft flies in support of.”
The response, he said, has been overwhelming.
“Every day we receive emails from members, employees and pilots expressing their pride and excitement about seeing the Wheels Up Cares planes on the ramp,” Kaufman said. “A member recently told us that as a veteran, he couldn’t imagine a better way to feel appreciated and recognized for his service than with this flying symbol of support.”
Based in New York, Wheels Up has more than 6,000 North American members and is currently in its seventh year. Those members are guaranteed access to a Wheels Up fleet of more than 115 aircraft up to 365 days a year with as little as 24 hours’ notice and at fixed hourly rates for time flown only. In addition to the King Air 350i, the fleet includes Hawker 400XP, Cessna Citation Excel/XLS and Citation X aircraft. Wheels Up does not operate the aircraft; Gama Aviation operates and manages the fleet.
In a 2014 King Air magazine article about the launch of Wheels Up, co­founder and CEO Kenny Dichter explained that his past experience founding Marquis Jet, which sold thousands of jet cards to individuals and businesses, led him to create the Wheels Up membership model and to execute what was at the time the largest business aircraft order for twin turboprop aircraft in general aviation history: Up to 105 new King Air 350i aircraft and with factory service as the acting maintenance provider, a deal valued at $1.4 billion.
“I learned that fractional jet owners were, on average, flying distances of just under two hours. I saw a gap in the market and identified the King Air as an ideal aircraft, giving birth to the idea of Wheels Up,” Dichter said at the time, explaining that the 350i was attractive to a new segment of private aviation he wanted to reach as well as the experienced private flyer.
6 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2019