Delta Private Jets
Delta Private Jets, Inc.[2] is an airline of the United States. Its corporate headquarters is on the property of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Boone County, Kentucky.[3] It operates jet aircraft as a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Its main base is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.[4]
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Founded | 2001 | ||||||
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Hubs | Cincinnati | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | SkyMiles | ||||||
Alliance | SkyTeam (affiliate) | ||||||
Fleet size | 70 | ||||||
Parent company | Delta Air Lines | ||||||
Headquarters | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Boone County, Kentucky, United States | ||||||
Key people | Rex Bevis, President & CFO; Lee Gossett, COO | ||||||
Website | deltaprivatejets.com |
History
The airline was founded as Comair Jet Express. It was renamed in October 2001 by parent company Delta Air Lines. It is wholly owned by Delta Air Lines.[4]
Delta Private Jets is a private aircraft service, which is aimed at businesses needing service to destinations on a private aircraft or that the airport does not supply on a regular basis. Delta Private Jets is also available to SkyMiles Elite members for an upgrade purchase price of $300–800 on select routes from Delta's Cincinnati, Atlanta, and New York hubs. In addition, this service allows travelers to avoid flying hassles such as security.[5]
Delta Private Jets headquarters is located at 82 Comair Boulevard building, which used to be the Comair headquarters and was called the Comair General Office Building.[6][7]
In June 2017, David Sneed, who had overseen a number of changes, including accepting SkyMiles as payments for jet cards, left Delta Private Jets where he was the senior executive. No replacement was immediately announced, although Delta Air Lines officials say they remain committed to the private jet service. In July 2017, Delta Private Jets named former Virgin Australia COO Gary Hammes as its new president replacing Sneed. In October 2018, Gary Hammes was succeeded by Jeff Mihalic who was appointed CEO of the company.[8] Mihalic is the former President of Delta Material Services. At the same time, long-time Delta employee Lee Gossett was named Senior Vice President of Operations and COO. Prior to his appointment, Gossett was the Vice President of line maintenance at Delta Air Lines.
In January 2017, Delta Private Jets announced Sky Access, a new membership program. For an initiation fee of $8,500 and $6,000 renewal, members can book as many empty leg flights as they wish for free. Members get the entire aircraft. DPJ said they flew over 6,300 empty legs in 2017.
In November 2018 DPJ announced expansion of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities by opening a new location at Sheltair Aviation on the grounds of the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Florida.[9]
On December 9, 2019, Delta Air Lines announced it took a stake in Wheels Up, a US air charter operator founded in 2013 and operating 120 aircraft (King Air 350i twin turboprops, Citation Excels/XLSs, Citation Xs and Hawker 400XP business jets) for its 7,700 members, to become its largest investor and merge it in the first quarter of 2020 with its Delta Private Jets subsidiary, to operate a fleet of 190 business aircraft.[10]
Benefits
Delta Private Jet card holders receive SkyMiles Diamond Medallion tier status. They also receive regular commercial flight ticket discounts.[11]
Accidents and incidents
- On August 21, 2019, Delta Private Jets Flight 91, a Cessna Citation Excel, registration N91GY bound for Portland International Airport suffered a runway excursion after aborting takeoff at Oroville Municipal Airport in California. The aircraft wound up in the grass and a fire broke out. All 10 occupants (2 crew, 8 passengers) evacuated safely. The aircraft burned and was written off. The investigation is ongoing.[12]
- On October 7, 2019, Delta Private Jets Flight 86, a Hawker 800, registration N86MN originating from Naples Airport bound for Kerrville Municipal Airport landed with the nosegear retracted at Southwest Florida International Airport. The 2 crew and 2 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The investigation is ongoing.[13]
Fleet
The Delta Private Jets fleet includes the following aircraft (as of March 2020):[4]
- 1 Bombardier Challenger 300
- 1 Bombardier Challenger 350
- 5 Bombardier Challenger 604
- 1 Bombardier Learjet 75
- 4 Bombardier Learjet 45
- 4 Bombardier Learjet 60
- 7 Cessna Citation X
- 21 Cessna Citation XLS/Excel
- 3 Cessna Citation CJ2
- 6 Cessna Citation CJ3
- 1 Cessna Citation Ultra/Bravo
- 4 Cessna Citation Sovereign
- 1 Dassault Falcon 7X
- 1 Embraer Phenom 300
- 1 Gulfstream GV
- 2 Gulfstream GIV
- 3 Gulfstream G200
- 1 Gulfstream G150
- 1 Hawker 4000
- 1 Hawker 800XP
- 1 Nextant 400XT
References
- "Delta Private Jets". Delta Private Jets. 2011-07-19. Archived from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- "Overview Archived 2010-10-15 at the Wayback Machine." Delta Private Jets. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
- Home page (Archive). Delta Private Jets. Retrieved on September 6, 2014. "Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport 82 Comair Blvd Erlanger, KY 41018 "
- "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 72.
- "Delta Private Jets". Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- "Recruiting Events: Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine" Comair. Retrieved on July 30, 2012.
- "Delta to offer one of the coolest upgrades yet". New Zealand Herald. 2015-07-28. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
- Caproni, Erin (November 30, 2018). "Delta Private Jets names CEO". bizjournals.com.
- "Delta Private Jets announces expansion with launch of new maintenance facility at Sheltair Aviation in Ft. Lauderdale". News.delta.com. November 8, 2018.
- Kate Sarsfield (17 December 2019). "Wheels Up merges with Delta Private Jets". Flightglobal.
- "Delta Private Jets Card". Archived from the original on 2014-06-25.
- Accident description for N91GY at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on November 19, 2020.
- Accident description for N86MN at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on November 19, 2020.