Travel. Most likely, it’s part of the Hip Daddy lifestyle. From work to play to family, many reasons why the Hip Daddy travels and doing it ‘right‘ is key. So, we are constantly engrained in the world of travel and always looking for efficiencies, new services/programs, and overall innovation in some form, wherever that may appear. For the sake of this post, let’s talk flying commercial. It can suck, with and without the kids. Most of the airlines have forgot about what customer service means and the airports themselves are simply more and more a hassle. Quite simply, flying can be a time suck, and we all know time is precious with the HD lifestyle. Now flying private, on the other hand, is the way to go in this day and age, but likely not realistic for everyone. Or so you thought…
Social aviation. That’s what we will call it. It’s here, and not going away. And one key player we are watching is Wheels Up. First off, we love the name, takes familiar flying slang and makes it part of the user process similar to that other company starting with a “U”….every Hip Daddy likes some branding genius #welldone. So what exactly is it? Wheels Up is membership-based private aviation company that significantly reduces the cost of flying privately while providing unparalleled flexibility and service, all through their app. In a nutshell, it’s an awesome app that, once in the club, you can fly private (or perhaps we should start calling it ‘flysharing’) at a price that might just make sense for you. Two things for this industry…
Attainability. That is what Wheels Up wants in the end, and this sort of democratization of the airline industry is most def Hip Daddy Approved. And they are actually backing it up with their various pricing models, making it indeed attainable for all. Quick trip to NYC for a VC meeting, weekend golf getaway with the fellow Hip Daddys, family jaunt to the islands for the holiday weekend, Wheels Up has you covered.
Approachable. This category needs to change the way people think about private aviation. And having the latest celeb ‘hawk’ you on Instagram is not the answer, that’s not approachable. That said, putting your logo on last years’ Triple Crown Winner American Pharaoh is actually quite interesting…speed and consistency wins the race. And likewise, getting to your destination in the fastest and most reliable possible way typically wins your day too. A horse vs. Kim Khardaisan? Our money is on the horse 🙂 This type of thinking will help disrupt this category and hopefully start a new conversation. Also, they have a Wheels Down program which is totally smart and fits the entire lifestyle approach. The more they build it as an approachable lifestyle brand and less of a private aviation company, good things will happen, that’s a Hip Daddy Guarantee.
Finally, the app. It needs to be good. It’s a mobile world #period. Every Hip Daddy surrounds themselves with smart technology and Wheels Up seems to be obsessed with developing the most perfect mobile experience. This is a good thing.
Travel is changing. And the Hip Daddy lifestyle is always demanding, evolving and looking for innovation. So before you know it, “let’s Wheels Up it” could be part of the Hip Daddy vernacular soon enough!