Private jet charter service Wheels Up Experience announced a shakeup to its organizational leadership this week, including former chairman of operations Dave Holtz being promoted to COO. Prior to his time at Wheels Up, Holtz ran the operations and customer center at Delta Air Lines, which owns a substantial stake in Wheels Up.
Other operational management changes include Rob Hamilton as the new senior v-p of operations, Pat Busscher as senior v-p of management, Patrick Burns as senior v-p of flight operations, Todd Wesoloskie as v-p of flight operations, and Al Mann as vice president of safety, security, and compliance.
“Our entire operations team is committed to delivering exceptional experiences for every customer on every flight—a mission critical to our vision of becoming the best run private aviation company in the world,” said Holtz. “To achieve this, I will lean on this team of industry-leading operators, whom I have previously worked closely with here at Wheels Up or during my career at Delta.”
The restructuring of Wheels Up's leadership comes just months after Delta led a consortium of investors to rescue it from reported financial troubles. In a 2023 financial filing, the air charter company reported a working capital deficit of $720.8 million. Delta previously owned a minority stake in the company.