Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday the closing of the transaction to combine Delta Private Jets with Wheels Up. The deal will now provide the over 8,000 members of both private jet programs with an expanded fleet and access to Delta’s global network.
Today, Delta Air Lines announced that the transaction to combine Delta Private Jets (DPJ) with Wheels Up has been completed. The combination will provide the over 8,000 members of both programs an expanded fleet, as well as access to Delta’s global network. Wheels Up brings an innovative digital platform and world-class lifestyle experience to DPJ’s highly respected reliability, safety, service and scale. With the conclusion of the deal today, the combination creates one of the world’s largest owned and managed private fleets with nearly 200 aircraft ranging is size from the Beech King Air 350i to large state-of-the-art corporate jets. Delta and Wheels Up will be communicating with customers in the coming weeks as cross-platform partnership benefits are rolled out. In Wednesday’s announcement, Wheels Up Founder and CEO, Kenny Dichter said,
“Together, Wheels Up and Delta will democratize the industry to make private flying and the private flying lifestyle accessible to significantly more individuals and businesses around the world. By adding Delta Private Jets and partnering with Delta, our membership platform has evolved to one that can fulfill a vast range of flight needs on a very large scale.
Delta Air Lines Chief Operating Officer, Gil West, will join the Board of Directors of Wheels Up as part of the transaction. Also commenting on Today’s announcement, Mr. West added,
“This innovative partnership is the latest step in Delta’s efforts to transform travel into a part of the journey to look forward to. Bringing together the Delta brand, DPJ’s renowned reliability and scale, and the exceptional experiences that are the hallmark of Wheels Up, is opening up a whole new world of travel options to more travelers than ever before.”
Both companies are working closely together to ensure a seamless transition for Delta Private Jet’s team members and customers, who will continue to operate from their Cincinnati base. Although financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed, Delta Air Lines stated that they didn’t expect any impact to their 2020 financial guidance.
Wheels Up offers their over 6,000 members three options for private aviation services including Connect, Core and Business, significantly reducing the cost of flying privately. Connect Members have access to “as-available” aircraft, while Core and Business Members have guaranteed access to a King Air 350i, “as-available” access to a Citation Excel/XLS or Citation X and guaranteed service at the category level on the Program Fleet. Business and Core members can book aircraft 365 days a year with as little as 24 hours’ notice and enjoy real-time dynamic pricing with capped hourly rates for time flown only.
Source: Delta Air Lines