Three Bizav 'Visionaries' Predict Industry's Future at NBAA-BACE | Aviation International News

Charter & Fractional

Three Bizav 'Visionaries' Predict Industry's Future at NBAA-BACE

The heads of Directional Aviation Capital, PlaneSense, and Wheels Up gathered at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas for a panel discussion.

From left, Kenn Ricci, founder and principal of Directional Aviation Capital; George Antoniadis, founder and CEO of PlaneSense; and Kenny Dichter, founder and CEO of Wheels Up, shared their views of the rapid rebound in business during an NBAA-BACE newsmakers luncheon moderated by Miles O’Brien. (Photo: Barry Ambrose)

By James Wynbrandt • Contributor - Business Aviation

October 11, 2021

The heads of three major business aviation enterprises—George Antoniadis, founder and CEO of PlaneSense; Kenny Dichter, founder and CEO of Wheels Up; and Kenn Ricci, founder and principal of Directional Aviation Capital—shared the dais and views on the current and coming state of the industry at the NBAA-BACE Aviation Visionaries Forecast Luncheon on Monday.

All three executives expressed surprise at the speed and extent of business aviation’s recovery, with Dichter likening demand for lift to “Joe’s Stone Crab on a Saturday night in season,” referring to the popular Miami restaurant. Antoniadis noted his company and the industry is “now squeezed because of unprecedented demand,” and Ricci said Flexjet went from 320 revenue hours a day on its fleet pre-Covid to between 500 and 550 revenue hours daily now. “In many ways, [the jump in hours is] more challenging than no business,” he said.

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