LIZ: DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
THE UNITED KINGDOM’S BIGGEST
AIRPORT IS IN THE THROWS OF
DRAMA AT THIS HOUR LOOK AT THIS
VIDEO, SOME PASSENGERS ARE
CALLING IT A "DISGRACEFUL CHAOS
."
IN A RARE MOVE LAST NIGHT HERE
IS WHAT HAPPENED.
LONDON’S HEATHROW AIRPORT
OFFICIALS ORDERED MULTIPLE
AIRLINES TO CUT THEIR FLIGHT
NUMBERS FOR THIS MORNING, DUE TO
CRIPPLING WORKER SHORTAGES.
30 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELED WHICH
LEFT SOME 5,000 FLIERS STRANDED
IN LINES THAT WERE HUNDREDS OF
PEOPLE LONG.
NOW HERE AT HOME, WE ARE JUST
ONE DAY AWAY FROM JULY 4TH
WEEKEND AND TRIPLE A IS
FORECASTING IT TO BE THE SECOND
BUSIEST TRAVEL WEEKEND SINCE THE
YEAR 2000.
NEARLY 48 MILLION AMERICANS WILL
BE TAKING TRIPS 50 MILES OR
MORE AWAY FROM HOME, AND THAT
COULD LEAD TO YET MORE CHAOS AT
U.S. AIRPORTS.
CONSIDERING 5,000 FLIGHTS WERE
CANCELED FATHER’S DAY AND JUNE
TEENTH WEEKEND IN THE U.S.
DUE TO SHORTAGES OF
AIRLINE EMPLOYEES AND AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, WE HAVE
THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT.
DELTA AIRLINES PILOTS OUT
PROTESTING TODAY.
THEY ARE FURIOUS ABOUT WORKING
CONDITIONS AND ARE DEMANDING
SCHEDULE CHANGES AND PAY
INCREASES.
SO THE DRAMA IN COMMERCIAL
AVIATION HAS PRESENTED PRIVATE
AVIATION WITH GLITTERING
OPPORTUNITY.
DEMAND FOR PRIVATE JET RENTAL IS
SKYROCKETING TO MULTIYEAR HIGHS,
WITH MORE THAN 1,500 JETS IN A
FAST-GROWING FLEET WHEELS UP
CHAIRMAN AND CEO KENNY DICHTER
IS ONE HAPPY GUY.
YOU GUYS JUST CLOSED OFFICIALLY
THE ACQUISITION OF UK-BASED
AIRPORT NERD WALLET, AND THEY’RE
ON FOUR CONTINENTS.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF WHAT
HAPPENED THIS MORNING IN HEATS
ROW?
>> WELL I WOULD SAY FIRST OFF
ANYBODY OVER AT HEATHROW, YOU
CAN CALL THEIR PARTNER, WHAT A
GREAT FIRM, THEY REALLY
COMPLETED OUR GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
FOR WHAT WHEELS UP IS
ENDEAVORING TO BE, AND AGAIN, I
BELIEVE THAT THE ISSUES THAT
COMMERCIAL TRAVEL HAS ARE
TEMPORARY.
I COULD REPORT IN DELTA’S OUR
PARTNER, BUT NOBODY CARES MORE
ABOUT THE CUSTOMERS AND THE
PILOTS THAN ED BASTIAN, AND
THE TEAM AT DELTA AND I KNOW
THAT WITH THE SPEED AND THE
FEROCIOUSNESS THAT THE DEMAND
CAME BACK IN FOR TRAVEL WHICH
AGAIN FOR THE LONG TERM IS
REALLY UNBELIEVABLE NEWS FOR THE
INDUSTRY.
I WOULD SAY THE SHORT-TERM PAIN
THAT WE’RE FEELING IS JUST, YOU
KNOW, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT’S
OUT THERE, LISTEN, WE NEED A BIG
UPGRADE IN TECHNOLOGY ON THE
INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE HERE IN
THE AIRPLANE BUSINESS, AROUND
THE WORLD, BUT LIKE I SAID I
THINK THERE’S NO BETTER
INDICATOR FOR WHERE THIS
INDUSTRY IS GOING.
IT’S GOING UP AND I WOULD SAY
THAT’S COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE.
AS IT RELATES TO WHEELS UP, OUR
DEMAND IS REALLY AT
UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS, EVEN AS WE
SEE SOME OF THE INDICES AND DOW
AND EVERY INDY SEE OUT THERE
COMING IN A LITTLE BIT HERE.
I THINK PEOPLE ARE JUST VALUING
THEIR TIME AND THE EXPERIENCED
ECONOMY THAT WE LIVE IN HERE,
WHAT YOU DO VERSUS WHAT YOU HAVE
, AN ECONOMY OF EXPERIENCE
AND GETTING TOGETHER WITH PEOPLE
AND MEMORIES IS STRONGER THAN
THE NEXT PAIR OF SHOES AND BAGS
THAT MAY HAVE BEEN A GENERATION
EARLIER.
LIZ: BUT KENNY, STAYING WITHIN
THE PRISM OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN
U.S. AND GLOBAL AIRPORTS
OBVIOUSLY WITH THE SITUATION AT
HEATHROW, WHEREIN SOME CASES
PEOPLE WERE NOTIFIED LESS THAN
TWO HOURS BEFORE THEIR FLIGHT IT
WAS CANCELED THEY WERE ALREADY
EN ROUTE TO THE AIRPORT OR AT
THE AIRPORT, YOU’RE LOOKING AT
SOME REAL NUMBERS FOR PRIVATE
AVIATION.
BOOM IT’S LIKE A SONIC BOOM,
RIGHT?
WING X COBBLED TOGETHER SOME OF
ITS NUMBERS.
FLIGHTS FOR JUNE AS WE
UNDERSTAND IT ARE ALREADY
ECLIPSING THE SAME MONTH BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC.
THEY’RE UP ABOUT 12%, NOT TO
MENTION THEY’RE UP SOMETHING
LIKE 70% OVER 2020, 25% OVER
2021 AND MOST OF THESE PEOPLE
APPARENTLY ARE FIRST TIME
PRIVATE JET FLIERS.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING SINCE I WANT
TO SAY FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND WHEN
PEOPLE’S LIVES WERE REALLY UP
ENDED AND THEY COULDN’T GET TO
WHERE THEY REALLY NEEDED TO GO.
>> YOU KNOW, WHEELS UP IS WELL-
POSITIONED, LIZ, FOR WHAT’S
HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY,
BECAUSE OUR MODEL, THE
MEMBERSHIP MODEL, IS ABOUT
ACCESSIBILITY.
WE’RE MAKING PRIVATE AVIATION
MORE ACCESSIBLE AND I THINK IF
YOU LOOK AT JUST THE , AGAIN,
THE DESIRE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO
BE TOGETHER, TO MAKE MEMORIES, I
THINK THE PANDEMIC FUELED THIS
BOOMERANG IF YOU WILL ON
PEOPLE FEELING HOW IMPORTANT, OR
REPRIORITIZED HOW IMPORTANT
TRAVEL IS IN THEIR LIVES AND
AGAIN, WE’RE WELL POSITIONED
HERE, PICKING UP AIR PARTNER,
PARTNERING WITH ED BASTIAN AND
DELTA AIRLINES.
I THINK WE’RE IN A POSITION HERE
WHEN I THINK OUT 10, 15, OR 20
YEARS, AND I THINK ABOUT WHAT
WAS A RIDE HAILING BUSINESS THAT
WAS A 10 OR $12 BILLION MARKET
WITH UBER AND LYFT IN THERE, AND
NOW IT’S HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS, I
JUST THINK WE HAVE A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY LEVERAGING
TECHNOLOGY AND LEVERAGING THE
POWER OF EXPERIENCE TO TAKE
US TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND AGAIN,
I THINK TODAY, IT’S CHALLENGING
FOR EVERYBODY, BECAUSE AGAIN,
WITH SUPPLY CHAIN STILL GUMMED
UP A LITTLE BIT, WITH AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROL AS YOU MENTIONED
BEFORE CHALLENGED WITH THE
NUMBER OF FLIGHTS, WITH
LABOR, EVERYBODIES GETTING THEIR
ARMS AROUND MAKING SURE THAT THE
LABOR IS IN GOOD SPIRITS.
I JUST HAVE SUCH A GREAT FEELING
ABOUT TRAVEL AND OUR CATEGORIES,
DEEP, DEEP INTO THE FUTURE.
LIZ: YES IN YOUR CATEGORY.
THAT’S THE IMPORTANT
PARENTHETICAL THERE.
KENNY GREAT TO SEE YOU THANK YOU
SO MUCH HAVE A GOOD 4TH OF JULY
HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
>> LIZ I’M GOING TO KEEP
FOLLOWING YOU ON TIK TOK.