Less than two weeks after Wheels Up announced plans to acquire London-based aviation services provider Air Partner, the New York-based company said it is purchasing a small Arizona-based Part 135 operator, Alante Air Charter. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Based in Scottsdale and founded in 2014, Alante operates 12 Citation CJ3/3+s and CJ4s. Those aircraft will now be part of Wheels Up, as will its 39 pilots.
Alante has served as a provider of additional lift to Wheels Up over the past year. “We have partnered with Alante Air as a trusted third-party operator, which has served our members well during a period of unprecedented demand in private aviation,” said Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter. “This acquisition further improves our operational efficiency and ability to offer members and customers access to a larger fleet of light jets, arguably the most in-demand category of aircraft in the industry.”