This year’s A to Z Issue celebrates people and businesses who have been successfully riding the turbulent waves of change and offering service and hope to the community at large. The print edition will be out later this month, but we’re teasing the content online, one letter at a time.
Private jets may have become the best way to travel. At Sheltair, the nationwide aviation services company with five hangars at Tampa International, GM Clayton Lackey has seen more and more people switching to private aviation instead of flying first class on commercial; that increase has helped pump up the company’s business from rentals and charter services. Staying open through the pandemic, Sheltair created an extra layer of customer service, making sure to put safety protocols in place and encouraging employees to get a sense from customers what their comfort levels were as they got ready to fly, and to give them the space they desired. For the busy executive or spontaneous traveler who needs a private jet in a hurry, a Wheels Up membership is the answer, with a range of options from the airborne equivalent of ride-shares to a guarantee of aircraft access up to 365 days a year with as little as 24 hours’ notice. And there’s this: Wheels Up teamed up this spring with Feeding America in an initiative called Meals Up to provide 10 million meals to those facing hunger during the COVID-19 crisis.
