Tradewind Aviation LLC

Who owns Tradewind Aviation?

The Zipkin family owns the company outright. Brothers Eric and David Zipkin founded it in 2001 and remain CEO and CCO respectively.

Is Tradewind Aviation publicly traded?

No. It is a private family-owned LLC with no outside shareholders.

How big is Tradewind?

Approximately 40 aircraft, 350 employees including 140-plus pilots, four operating bases, and roughly 1,160 flights per month.

Is Tradewind an airline or a charter company?

Both. It holds FAA Part 135 authority as a commuter and on-demand operator, selling scheduled seats on shuttle routes and whole-aircraft charters under the same certificate.

Where is Tradewind based?

Headquartered at Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Oxford, Connecticut, with bases at Westchester County Airport (New York), Witham Field (Stuart, Florida), and Luis Muñoz Marín International (San Juan, Puerto Rico).

Eric and David Zipkin founded the company in 2001 at Waterbury-Oxford Airport, both already pilots: Eric had learned the charter trade working for another operator, and the brothers had run ventures together before identifying a niche in high-quality regional flights in the Northeast.

The scheduled model emerged from customer behavior: charter clients asked to share aircraft and buy seats individually, so in 2002 Tradewind launched shared shuttle service between Westchester County Airport, Teterboro, and Nantucket, among the first shared charter concepts in the industry. The first Pilatus PC-12 arrived in 2004 and became the operational backbone.

Growth followed seasonal leisure demand. The Northeast shuttle expanded to Martha's Vineyard, Stowe, and Newport; the company created the first PC-12-specific jet card program; and the Caribbean network developed around San Juan as a hub for St. Barths, Anguilla, Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Antigua service. Southeast routes added Stuart and Fort Lauderdale departures to the Abaco and Eleuthera islands and Nassau.

The company marked its 20th anniversary in 2021 still under original family ownership. As of 2026 it employs roughly 350 people across four bases and cites a spotless safety record across its operating history.