Portside Acquires Licensing Rights for Avianis from Wheels Up

Industry-leading flight management system enhances Portside's portfolio of technology solutions for global operators

SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Portside, a leading innovator in technology and software solutions for business and government aviation, today announced it has reached an agreement with Wheels Up's affiliate Avianis Systems, LLC, on a license to market, service and develop the Avianis fleet management system. The agreement extends Portside's suite of integrated, cloud-based software solutions for business aviation operators across the globe. 

"We are excited to add Avianis to our industry-leading set of technology solutions," said Alek Vernitsky, CEO and Co-founder of Portside. "As we continue to build a turn-key and scalable operating system for business aviation, Avianis brings important functionality, a best-in-class user experience and an outstanding support team to our overall value proposition, and we see enormous potential to continue to develop and enhance the platform." 

Under the terms of the deal, Portside will continue to serve Avianis's existing customer base, market to prospective customers and develop new features for the platform, which is widely considered one of the premier flight management systems in the industry. Key members of the Avianis product and support teams will join Portside to serve customer needs and future development opportunities.

Wheels Up will retain the intellectual property associated with Avianis and will continue to maintain and develop its own internal instance of the platform as the FMS for its first-party fleet. 

"This agreement is evidence of the great product the Avianis team has built as part of the Wheels Up family and the continued value it adds for some of the top operators around the world," said Dave Godsman, Wheels Up Chief Digital Officer. "Avianis has become an integral part of Wheels Up's platform, and we are pleased it will continue to serve as a core piece of our operations." 

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Portside
Portside is developing a modern, cloud-based operating system for business and government aviation: a set of integrated solutions addressing major industry pain points. The Portside platform supports over 800 operators of business jets, helicopters, industrial and government fleets, as well as fractional jet ownership programs in over 30 countries. Portside is headquartered in San Francisco with team members across the US, Europe and Asia. Learn more about Portside at www.portside.aero

About Wheels Up
Wheels Up is a leading provider of on-demand private aviation in the U.S. and one of the largest private aviation companies in the world. Wheels Up offers a complete global aviation solution with a large, modern and diverse fleet, backed by an uncompromising commitment to safety and service. Customers can access membership programs, charter, aircraft management services and whole aircraft sales — as well as unique commercial travel benefits through a strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines. The Wheels Up services brands also offer freight, safety & security solutions and managed services to individuals, industry, government and civil organizations.

Wheels Up is guided by the mission to connect flyers to private aircraft—and one another—and deliver exceptional, personalized experiences. Powered by a global private aviation marketplace connecting its base of more than 12,000 members and customers to a network of more than 1,500 safety-vetted and verified private aircraft, Wheels Up is widening the aperture of private travel for millions of consumers globally. With the Wheels Up mobile app, members and customers have the digital convenience to search, book and fly.

To learn more about Wheels Up, go to Wheelsup.com 

SOURCE Wheels Up