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.

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 8 hr. per day, then surged to 500 revenue hours.

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.” 

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.”