Oh, how the cream of the crop rises. A new Dallas-based private-plane company, Rise, is offering Texas’ luxury set an all-you-can-fly service for one monthly fee. If Uber went airborne, it might look something like this.
Rise’s home-base terminal at Dallas Love Field operates a small fleet of refurbished Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprops with creamy leather seats for up to eight passengers. Flight options include Dallas to Houston on weekdays and so-called Fun Flight options on weekends to destinations such as Austin, Vail, Colorado, and Seaside, Florida. Patrons pay an initiation fee of $750 and one of three monthly memberships: $1,650, $2,150 and $2,650. Each level includes unlimited flying, but the higher-cost memberships guarantee first-priority seating at the busiest times. Flight times are set, like a commercial airline; that regularity is one factor in keeping a traveler’s costs lower than leasing an entire plane or jet. Expenses — crew, fuel, et cetera — are spread out over many fliers, not footed by one. Addison-based Monarch Air manages the aircraft and crews, but all of the travel arrangements, including a valet waiting to greet you at the airport, are made via Rise’s mobile app or its website. Conceivably, in under 15 minutes, one could tap one’s phone, pull into Love Field and be climbing into the clouds.
The air up there: One of Rise’s Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprops
The idea is the brainchild of personable Nick Kennedy, who lives in Preston Hollow. He is no aviation expert, but the serial-business entrepreneur says he has logged about 2 million miles on airplanes — much of it filled with hassles, delays and cramped seating. All of that changed after he traveled repeatedly on the private jet of Patrick Soon-Shiong, whom Forbes recently declared “the richest doctor who ever lived” in a cover story. Kennedy thought there should be a way to democratize the lofty experience without the entry point “in the six figures” for most aircraft timeshares. (It doesn’t hurt that his advisory panel includes former Sabre chairman and CEO Sam Gilliland, who serves on President Barack Obama’s management advisory board.)
Kennedy has big plans to expand and even hopes to link his Rise with similar private-flight offerings around the country. He also wants to create one-of-a-kind experiences: He is already packaging a “flight party” to an undisclosed Texas ranch, where Top Chef alum Tre Wilcox will have dinner ready when guests touch down. Whether for business or for frivolity, getting there, with just a handful of passengers on an intimate plane, may finally be the loveliest part. Flights begin in December. Details at iflyrise.com
