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

IADA sees strong demand and constrained inventory shaping the global preowned aircraft market

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) has released its 2026-2027 Current Market Portrait & Forecast, offering an in-depth analysis of the global preowned business av...

flyadeal arrives in Mumbai, strengthening air connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia

flyadeal, the fast-growing low-cost carrier of Saudia Group and one of the GCC's largest budget airlines, has expanded its presence in India with the launch of non-stop flights between Riyadh and...

Corsair takes to the skies in pink this October

  For the fourth consecutive year, Corsair is reaffirming its commitment to the fight against breast cancer by partnering with the association "Les Hôtesses de l’Air cont...

SkyDrive eyes Osaka’s rooftops for a new generation of eVTOL vertiports

Following the successful public flight demonstrations at Expo 2025 Osaka, SkyDrive announced plans to undertake a feasibility study exploring the conversion of Osaka City’s existi...

Android Apps development in Riga, Latvia