Wheels Up launches business aircraft sales division

Wheels Up has launched Wheels Up Aircraft Sales, a new business unit that offers aircraft brokerage, acquisition, trade, and advisory services.

Wheels Up is now the only company in the industry that can offer a total private aviation solution for both corporate and personal travel including private jet membership, aircraft management and whole aircraft sales.

Chris Brenner, John Odegard and Seth Zlotkin, who together bring more than 50 years of experience and over $1B in aircraft transactions, lead the new business. Brenner was most recently SVP Sales for the Americas at Jetcraft Corporation while Odegard and Zlotkin co-founded QS Partners, NetJets' aircraft sales and acquisitions company.

Wheels Up Aircraft Sales is being launched at a key moment in the Company's growth following the acquisition of Gama Aviation and the close of its groundbreaking acquisition of Delta Private Jets through the transaction with Delta Air Lines earlier this year. The new platform will enhance the existing Wheels Up ecosystem and is supported by the unique capital structure of the business, which offers the sophistication and infrastructure to handle complex aircraft transactions. The team will also leverage the vast resources Wheels Up provides through data and technology services and its world-class sales team, in addition to integrating value-added benefits for its customers through access to other Wheels Up offerings.

Wheels Up Founder and CEO, Kenny Dichter.

"Adding whole aircraft sales and advisory services has been part of our long-term vision for Wheels Up as a total aviation solutions company and a global leader in the industry," said Wheels Up Founder and CEO, Kenny Dichter. "The timing is perfect in that we see a meaningful shift in the addressable market and overall interest in private flying.

"The Wheels Up Aircraft Sales team has an unmatched combination of knowledge and experience. Chris, John, and Seth are tops in their field and share our passion for doing business with a relentless focus on personal service. With this new platform, we will have the capability to support the entire lifecycle of a private flyer."

Zlotkin added, "We are thrilled to be joining Wheels Up with the common goal of building the world's best aircraft sales company while bolstering the brand's full suite of private aviation services. We look forward to providing existing and prospective Wheels Up Members and Wheels Up Managed Aircraft Clients with our services and tapping into Wheels Up's deep network and industry expertise to amplify our innovative approach."

Stephanie Chung named as first Chief Growth Officer

In further news, Stephanie Chung has joined Wheels Up as the company's first Chief Growth Officer. Chung will focus on generating revenue through new client acquisition, and growing a diverse membership base by targeting corporations, associations, executives, entrepreneurs, and sports and entertainment personalities as the next generation of private flyers.

Chung joins Wheels Up with over 30 years of experience catalyzing transformative growth in the aviation sector and has widely been recognized as a trailblazer as the first African-American president of a major private aviation company.

Stephanie Chung has joined Wheels Up as the company's first Chief Growth Officer | Photo: Mariano Rosales.

Most recently, Chung served as the President of JetSuite where she repositioned the brand from a commodity service to a luxury customer experience, upgrading the fleet, and elevating the client experience. In recognition of this work, JetSuite was named to the Dallas Business Journal's 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies and voted one of the Best Places to Work by the Human Rights Campaign. Chung also served as VP of Sales for Flexjet where she oversaw a sales organization and strategic deal team that together generated over $835 million in revenue. Chung also held influential roles at US Airways (now operating as American Airlines), Delta Air Lines and Bombardier. Chung currently serves as a member of C200, a community of the most successful women in business, as well as serving on the Advisory Council of the National Business Aviation Association and the Advisory Board of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Her personal achievements have been recognized in D CEO Magazine's Top 500 and inclusion in the Ebony Power 100.

Chung, who will be based in Dallas, will report to Wheels Up Founder and CEO Kenny Dichter and will serve on the executive team. The newly created role comes at a key moment for Wheels Up following the announcement of a new Aircraft Sales business and following the acquisition of Gama Aviation and the close of its groundbreaking acquisition of Delta Private Jets with Delta Air Lines earlier this year.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 20th August 2020 | Issue #569