Wheels Up Citation X fleet grows to 51

With Mountain Aviation adding five more Citation Xs, the Wheel Up type fleet has now passed the half-century mark

On the verge of becoming publicly traded, Wheels Up continues to grow its “asset right” fleet, Wheels Up senior vice president of operations Gregg Fahrenbuch tells Private Jet Card Comparisons. The latest addition is five Citation Xs.

Since the beginning of the year, Mountain Aviation has added 10 Citation Xs. That gives it 40 of the uber-fast super-midsize jets. Other Wheels Up operators have 11 more Citation Xs. In the past year, Mountain Aviation has more than doubled its fleet of Xs. Wheels Up acquired Mountain in January.

Fahrenbruch says the new additions are a combination of management agreements and triple net leases. The latter gives Wheels Up unlimited access without owner approval.

All of the Citation Xs have WiFi and are upgraded to Wheels Up standards as they are onboarded. Right now, the Xs are staying busy with flights to the mountains, and on transcontinental routes, Fahrenbruch says.

This year, Wheels Up unveiled a $29,995 capped rate between the East Coast and West Coast and Mountain states.

The Citation X is capable of flying to Hawaii. However, Wheels Up doesn’t have a capped or fixed rate program for the islands yet. Wheels Up owns, leases, and manages over 350 aircraft on its various Part 135 certificates.