Wheels Up, the leading brand in private aviation, unveiled its first-ever orange Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft in partnership with Textron Aviation in honor of Feeding America's Hunger Action Month this September.
The Orange Plane is part of the ongoing Wheels Up Cares and Meals Up initiatives. Meals Up was created in March 2020 to help support the growing levels of food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. This effort has already raised and inspired the equivalent of more than 47 million meals for Feeding America, with participation from Wheels Up ambassadors and friends including Russell Wilson, Ciara, Tom Brady, JJ Watt, Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, and Joey Logano.
The Wheels Up Orange Plane is a flying symbol to raise awareness for food insecurity and in honor of Feeding America and the frontline workers at the 200 member food banks across the nation and, like all Wheels Up Cares aircraft, will be a permanent part of the Wheels Up fleet. The plane represents continued dedication from the Wheels Up team to combat hunger in America as more than 50 million people could face hunger in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recognition of Hunger Action Month, on Sept. 14, the control towers at New York's LaGuardia Airport and the pylons at LAX lit up orange to help bring attention to the issue of hunger, taking note of the extenuating circumstances food banks are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We kicked off the Meals Up initiative back in March with one purpose — to help feed people — and we knew then that the next Wheels Up Cares plane would be orange in support of fighting food insecurity and to raise awareness for Feeding America's Hunger Action Month," said Kenny Dichter, founder and CEO of Wheels Up. "We are grateful to Ron Draper and Textron Aviation for once again donating the design and livery of the Orange Plane to shine a light on this important cause. We are excited that Textron Aviation has joined the Meals Up movement and we are energized by their generous donation of 500,000 meals."
"Wheels Up has been a steadfast partner to Feeding America. We thank them for their continued contributions and for helping us rally the nation to end hunger in our communities," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. "Hunger Action Month is just that — a time for us all to act — and provide meals for the millions of Americans who need our help, especially during these unprecedented times."
