Wheels Up Unveils One-of-A-Kind Orange Beechcraft King Air 350i Aircraft in Honor of Feeding America's Hunger Action Month(TM)

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Wheels Up, the leading brand in private aviation, unveiled its first-ever orange Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft in partnership with Textron Aviation in honor of Feeding America's Hunger Action Month this September. 

The Orange Plane is part of the ongoing Wheels Up Cares and Meals Up initiatives. Meals Up was created in March 2020 to help support the growing levels of food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. This effort has already raised and inspired the equivalent of more than 47 million meals* for Feeding America, with participation from Wheels Up ambassadors and friends including Russell Wilson, Ciara, Tom Brady, JJ Watt, Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, and Joey Logano.

The Wheels Up Orange Plane is a flying symbol to raise awareness for food insecurity and in honor of Feeding America and the frontline workers at the 200 member food banks across the nation and, like all Wheels Up Cares aircraft, will be a permanent part of the Wheels Up fleet. The plane represents continued dedication from the Wheels Up team to combatting hunger in America as more than 50 million people could face hunger in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recognition of Hunger Action Month, tonight the control towers at New York's LaGuardia Airport and the pylons at LAX will light up orange to help bring attention to the issue of hunger, taking note of the extenuating circumstances food banks are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apparel brand Sportiqe has also joined the cause and donated 50,000 meals to take action against hunger.

"We kicked off the Meals Up initiative back in March with one purpose – to help feed people – and we knew then that the next Wheels Up Cares plane would be orange in support of fighting food insecurity and to raise awareness for Feeding America's Hunger Action Month," said Kenny Dichter, Founder and CEO of Wheels Up. "We are grateful to Ron Draper and Textron Aviation for once again donating the design and livery of the Orange Plane to shine a light on this important cause. We are excited that Textron Aviation has joined the Meals Up movement and we are energized by their generous donation of 500,000 meals."  

"Wheels Up has been a steadfast partner to Feeding America. We thank them for their continued contributions and for helping us rally the nation to end hunger in our communities," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. "Hunger Action Month is just that – a time for us all to act – and provide meals for the millions of Americans who need our help, especially during these unprecedented times."  

"Textron Aviation is honored to be partnering with Kenny Dichter and Wheels Up, once again, in their Wheels Up Cares initiative," said Ron Draper, President & CEO of Textron Aviation. "Now more than ever, it is imperative that we come together to support the many people affected by this pandemic. In addition to the donation of the paint to the aircraft, we are proud to be providing a monetary gift to the Meals Up effort, which will provide more than 500,000 meals to feed members of our communities across the nation."

Along with the Orange Plane to honor Feeding America, Wheels Up Cares includes one-of-a-kind Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft recognizing the following causes: the Camouflage Plane for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Red Plane for the American Heart Association and Simon's Heart, the Teal Plane for Ovarian Cancer Awareness, and the Pink Plane for Breast Cancer Awareness and the Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai.

*$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of member food banks. 

About Wheels Up
Wheels Up is the leading brand in private aviation that delivers a total aviation solution. Created and led by renowned entrepreneur Kenny Dichter, the company offers three membership options—Connect, Core, and Business—that significantly reduces the cost to fly privately, and provides its 9,000+ members with unparalleled safety, service, flexibility, and quality. Wheels Up gives members access to one of the world's largest owned and managed fleets of private aircraft, totaling over 300 planes—as well as the Program Fleet, which includes over 1,250 Wheels Up safety-vetted and verified partner aircraft in the Light, Midsize, Super-Mid, and Large-Cabin Categories. Many of these options can be booked instantly.

Connect Members receive access to all aircraft on an as-available basis. For Core and Business Members, access is guaranteed on the King Air 350i, as available on the Citation Excel/XLS and Citation X, and guaranteed at the category level on the Program Fleet. Core and Business Members enjoy aircraft availability with real-time dynamic pricing backed by capped hourly rates for time flown only, up to 365 days a year and with as little as 24 hours' notice.

Popular features such as Shared Flights, empty-leg Hot Flights, Shuttles, and The Community, an online platform of members-only forums to facilitate flight sharing, enable members to further reduce their cost of flying private. Through a groundbreaking partnership with Delta Air Lines, members have unique access and exclusive cross-platform benefits. Signature events and benefits from among the world's preeminent lifestyle brands make up the company's Wheels Down program.

To learn more about Wheels Up, go to Wheelsup.com.

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Wheels Up Media Contact:
JONESWORKS
Email: wheelsup@jonesworks.com
Tel: 212-839-0111

About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

About Textron Aviation 

We inspire the journey of flight. For more than 90 years, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense products, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, affordable, productive and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com  |  www.defense.txtav.com |  www.scorpionjet.com.

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SOURCE Wheels Up