Do you often itch to just get up and go? Kenny Dichter would like you to consider Wheels Up, his new membership-based private aviation company. All you need to get started is $15,750 for the initiation fee and first-year dues.
“We go everywhere our members want us to,” says CEO Dichter. “It’s mind-blowing, really, what you can do.” Other private jet companies can blow your mind in similar fashion, but Wheels Up claims a unique membership plan. Most companies require members to own a fraction of the jet. With that comes partial responsibility for maintenance, crews and airport fees. Wheels Up, on the other hand, charges by the hour for its fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprops and other craft.
When not at Wheels Up headquarters in Times Square, the Livingston resident splits time between Teterboro and Morristown Airports, tending to clients’ needs. About 150 members have signed on for the service, launched last August.
The pampering is substantial. With security and TSA responsibilities handled by the pilot, members don’t even have to remove shoes to get on board. Seats are butter-soft leather, and the onboard pantry is stocked with food the member requests. Running late? The jet will wait.
“That’s the magic of it,” Dichter says. “You get dropped off, you take off.”