The customized interior of Wheels Up's Beechcraft King Air 350i. (Courtesy of Wheels Up)
A year-old, membership-based private aviation company called Wheels Up is expanding to Dallas — its first office outside of its New York home.
Starting Saturday, the company said it will offer service to meet “the significant and growing demand for short to medium-haul flights” in Texas and regionally, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
“These markets represent a significant opportunity for Wheels Up [and] our unique membership model,” founder Kenny Dichter said in a statement. He also founded Marquis Jet, the originator of the 25-hour fractional jet card, which sold in 2010.
Wheels Up had 575 members in August and Dichter expects to have more than 1,000 by year’s end.
It charges an initiation fee of $15,750 and annual dues of $7,250 for an individual/family membership. A corporate membership costs $25,000 plus $10,000 in annual dues. Fliers also must pay a fee per flight hour.
In this market, Wheels Up plans to fly customized nine-passenger Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprop planes that will be based in Dallas and Houston.
“The King Air 350i is ideal for the Texas market as it offers excellent short field performance and greater payload capacity on less fuel for consistent savings,” Dichter said.
Wheels Up has hired two employees in Dallas, but plans to add more, a spokeswoman said.
Wheels Up faces hefty competition from fractional jet and charter companies — some right here in North Texas.
Dallas-based Flexjet, a private fractional-ownership jet company, is expanding. Earlier this month, it agreed to buy up to 50 Gulfstream Aerospace jets to add to its fleet of Learjets and Challengers.