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Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation CEO Tim Rose with RideWell executives Robert Partovi and David Flores have created a bicoastal chauffeured service for entertainment and corporate clienteles in Los Angeles and New York. The new division of Flyte Tyme is based near the Van Nuys Airport, an FBO facility.

VAN NUYS, Calif. — Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation, based in Mahwah, N.J., closed a deal May 14 to open a branch office in Los Angeles and take over the operations of its affiliate partner, RideWell Worldwide Transportation, a high-end chauffeured services provider for clients in the music and entertainment industries of Los Angeles.

The division is based at the Van Nuys Airport in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, one of the most lucrative FBO hubs in the nation with its continuous “Gulfstream” flow of celebrity, entertainment industry, and upper corporate clientele who prefer charter jets to commercial airline service.

Rose, Flyte Tyme’s President and COO, and two of his new business partners, RideWell CEO Robert R. Partovi and executive vice president David M. Flores, sat down for an interview Tuesday about their new venture, in newly moved-in offices. Partovi and Flores each have more than 20 years of experience in the Los Angeles chauffeured transportation market, having worked together at Diva Limousine and at Empire before it merged with CLS.

RideWell, which the two partners founded in 2004, still does business under its own name. It brings about 50 vehicles to Flyte Tyme’s fleet — 25 company-owned sedans, SUVs, Sprinter vans and premium luxury sedans and another 25 Audi vehicles on loan for three years as part of a promotional program by Audi of America Inc. The Audi fleet includes A8, Q7, and W12 models.

In addition to its new Los Angeles division and Mahwah, N.J. headquarters, Flyte Tyme has company-owned fleet operations in Stamford, Conn., Princeton, N.J., and Philadelphia, for a total fleet of 286 vehicles. Before the acquisition, Flyte Tyme was ranked No. 6 on the 2012 LCT 100 Largest Fleets List.

RideWell team members working with Flyte Tyme include Nancy Campbell, senior account executive, CEO Robert Partovi, Maggie Kakish, director of business development, David Flores, executive vp, and Mark Valenzuela, dispatch manager.

The arrangement with RideWell evolved from its strong affiliate connection with Flyte Tyme; both companies were sending millions of dollars of New York-Los Angeles affiliate business to each other annually. New York and L.A. are two U.S. cities with the strongest mutual entertainment and business connections, resulting in one of the most frequently traveled business routes in the U.S.

Until the deal with RideWell, Los Angeles was the biggest farm-out market for Flyte Tyme. “With RideWell’s high touch, white-glove clientele and [Flyte Tyme’s] high-volume corporate travelers, our services are complementary,” Rose said. “This is a nice value for our portfolio.”