NBAA hosted a newsmakers lunch on Oct. 11 with (left to right) Kenn Ricci, Directional Aviation Capital founder and principal; George Antoniadis, PlaneSense founder and CEO; and Kenny Dichter, Wheels Up founder and CEO—moderated by Miles O’Brien. All three agree that there will be consolidation in the market, and they agree that there will probably be 4-5 major players in 20 years. “The big and strong are going to get bigger and stronger,” says Dichter.
Kenny Dichter, Wheels Up founder and CEO “We’re just getting started. The good news is, our industry is a $30 billion business today. If you improve through technology, you lower the price. Look what Uber did…. I think this business can be much bigger.”
George Antoniadis, PlaneSense founder and CEO “I believe we’ve had an inflection point. I believe it’s a long-term change, and it’s a responsibility of the players to provide an intelligent solution.”
Kenn Ricci, Directional Aviation Capital founder and principal Before COVID-19, Directional Aviation had been flying 300-320 revenue hours per day. During COVID, at one point it dropped to eight hours per day, then surged to 500 revenue hours.