Private jet IPOs beg the question: Does stock price matter for customers?

private jet ipos

Wheels Up’s IPO day investors saw share price fall over 80%. Yet, the private jet provider has more members than ever. Does stock price matter for flyers?

What a difference a year makes, particularly for Wheels Up. And what’s ahead for Flexjet and FlyExclusive now that they plan to become publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange?

FlyExclusive follows Wheels Up, Flexjet with IPO plans

Jim Segrave

North Carolina-based FlyExclusive is planning a SPAC merger with E.G. Acquisition Corp. as it plans to grow its fractional and charter fleet to 154 aircraft by 2024

FlyExclusive is the latest major jet card and fractional flight provider to jump into the public markets.

Surf Air sets SPAC, agrees to merge with Southern Airways

Surf Air

Surf Air Mobility said it is moving forward with its SPAC and will merge with Southern Airways in deals that will give it a $1.42 billion value

Surf Air Mobility said it has entered into a definitive agreement, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval, which will result in a merger with Southern Airways Corporation, parent company of Southern Airways.

Here’s how much Wheels Up paid for each of its 5 acquisitions

Wheels Up Kenny Dichter

Kenny Dichter and Wheels Up doled out less than $100 million in cash to build the second-largest private jet operator with a $2 billion valuation

When Wheels Up’s acquired 5th-biggest Part 135 charter operator Mountain Aviation in January, it pushed the group past Directional Aviation’s Flexjet as the second-largest for-hire private aircraft operator in the U.S. For Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter, it was a day at the beach compared to another cold New York winter morning in early 2019. At that point, Wheels Up didn’t operate a single aircraft. Founded in 2013, its owned and leased fleet was outsourced to Gama Aviation Signature. Wheels Up was a big brand. Yet, it was merely a marketing organization selling memberships onto what was then mainly a fleet of King Air 350i turboprops.

%d bloggers like this: