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REAL Jet Expands Private Aviation Leadership Team With Four Industry Veterans From Wheels Up, NetJets and Marquis Jet

Sun, Aug 30, 2026

REAL Jet Expands Private Aviation Leadership Team With Four Industry Veterans From Wheels Up, NetJets and Marquis Jet

REAL Jet has added four experienced private aviation executives as partners, strengthening the emerging charter company founded by private aviation entrepreneur Kenny Dichter and former Wheels Up executive Robert Withers.

The August 28 appointments bring Nicole Hammond, Brad Pendergrass, Lee Esposito and Charly Martin into the company, adding experience from major private aviation brands including Wheels Up, Marquis Jet and NetJets. The executives will also expand REAL Jet’s commercial reach across Atlanta, Nashville, Seattle and the U.S. West Coast.

REAL Jet was launched in May 2025 as part of REAL SLX and provides private travelers with access to aircraft operated by vetted FAR Part 135 carriers and international equivalents. REAL Jet itself acts as a charter arranger rather than a direct air carrier.

Dichter previously founded Marquis Jet and co-founded Wheels Up, making REAL Jet one of the more closely watched new entrants in the U.S. private aviation market.

Withers, REAL Jet’s president, also co-founded Wheels Up and spent more than two decades working across private aviation sales and operations.

The latest hires suggest REAL Jet is moving aggressively to build the experienced sales organization and customer relationships required to compete in the highly fragmented U.S. private jet charter market.

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