The Up Front

We’re a journalist-owned partnership, creating the world’s best in-depth, independent aviation journalism in our areas of expertise. We’re up front in what we write, the way we write it, and the way we operate. We offer deep expertise, stories that inform and entertain you, and a media outlet you can trust. We’re influential, not influencers, and we’re beholden to only our readers: no big media owners, no fintech backers, no external advertising networks, no PR teams. To create The Up Front, we’re changing the journalism model, creating a new media outlet that’s sustainably funded for the long term on a hybrid structure. Our primary funding is from readers like you through individual subscriptions, and by readers working in the industry through company subscriptions. We’re planning that roughly half our work will be exclusive to our subscribers, with the other half available to read for free. We’re also funded by an unusually simple and intentionally nonintrusive single weekly advertiser slot, with our advertising team walled off from our editorial team. We’re also changing the way media operates, especially around technology, ethics and practices. We’re digital experts, having been part of the launch teams for numerous successful outlets and startups before. This time, we’re doing it the way we’ve always wanted, with all the benefits of 2025 technology. The benefit: we’re able to bring you beautifully designed and carefully crafted stories that are a pleasure to read and worthy of your time. We've intentionally designed The Up Front to avoid the worst of modern media, like popups asking to send you email or steal your attention through browser notifications, autoplay video, or ugly flashing ads. Instead, we offer you clean text, presented in a way that you can read, images that illustrate our writing, and graphics that help you understand what’s going on.