Wheels Up eyes new segment of members through Costco deal

Wheels Up, a major customer for Wichita’s Textron Aviation, has entered into a partnership with warehouse club retailer Costco.

Through the partnership, the New York-based private aviation membership company is offering Costco members a $17,499.99 annual membership to Wheels Up, which provides its members flights on its fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350is and Cessna Citation Excel/XLS aircraft with 24-hour advance booking.

Costco members who sign up and pay for the Wheels Up membership receive a $3,500 Costco Cash Card.

“It means we are officially democratizing private aviation,” Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter said.

“We want to bring private aviation to a much larger base of customers than has ever been done.”

Costco operates 698 stores in the U.S. and eight other countries, and has 81.3 million members.

Dichter said the partnership with Costco comes after Wheels Up closed out 2015 by signing up its 2,000th member. Since January, the company has added more than 100 additional members, bringing its total membership to date at more than 2,100.

“We plan on exiting 2016 with 3,500 plus members,” Dichter added.

He said the company’s fleet so far totals 40 King Air turboprops and 15 Citation Excels/XLS business jets.

Wheels Up remains on schedule to take delivery of nine additional King Air 350is in the first half of 2016, Dichter said.

The company in 2013 made an order for up to 105 King Air 350is, a deal that at the time was valued at $1.4 billion.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Wheels Up eyes new segment of members through Costco deal."