Travel Management Co. of Elkhart has been acquired by Wheels Up of New York, a membership-based private aviation company.
Travel Management is a wholesale-focused light jet operator, Wheels Up said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Travel Management will remain based in Elkhart and operate as an independent subsidiary of Wheels Up. Company CEO Phil Dodyk and other company leaders also will remain in place.
“This acquisition is a foundational piece in our continued brand evolution and mission to provide our members with a total private aviation solution, and we are thrilled to be welcoming TMC into the Wheels Up family,” said Kenny Dichter, founder and
CEO of Wheels Up. “TMC and their light jet fleet are a perfect complement to our anchor partner, Gama Aviation, and their pilots, who will continue to operate the aircraft in our Wheels Up fleet and provide our members with the same high level of safety and service that they do today.”
Wheels Up said its purchase of Travel Management is in response to increasing demand from Wheels Up Members for high-quality light jets. Wheels Up has a fleet of 93 aircraft, which will be combined with Travel Management's fleet of 26 Hawker 400XP aircraft.
Phil Dodyk, CEO of Travel Management, said combining with Wheels Up is a good fit because both firms have similar business philosophies.
“By joining Kenny and the Wheels Up team, we're excited to become part of such a renowned brand and a larger company that is deep with talented leadership, which shares our collective vision of building an industry leader,” he said.
