42 | Flight International | 10-16 November 2015 flightglobal.com
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SPECIAL REPORT
ger agrees to pay the pro-rated costs of fuel,
taxes and fees. The Boston-based company,
founded 18 months ago, has joined forces with
two of the region’s largest training schools to
build up its pool of pilots.
“There is a huge number of under-utilised
aircraft in the US,” Lewis continues. “Many
pilots have cut back drastically on their flight
time as the cost of owning and operating an air-
craft has sky-rocketed.”AFFORDABLE FLYING
He believes the concept of ride-sharing web-
sites enable pilots to fly more frequently, as
their costs – fuel, insurance and other related
expenses – are cut in half.
“For the traveller, too, flying is not only af-
fordable but now it is easily accessible,” Lewis
says. “These ride-sharing portals have helped
to open up the benefits of private aviation to a
whole new community of people who never
considered travelling this way before.”
His views are echoed by Alan Guichard, co-
founder and developer of fellow US ride-shar-
ing website, Flytenow.
“Pilots have always relied on ride-sharing as
a way of reducing their expenses, bringingKATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Ride-sharing in the USA has made a once elite private transport market more affordable
for passengers and pilots alike – but success has brought with it scrutiny from the FAA
END OF THE RIDE?
Typical types for ride-sharing offers are propeller models such as Beechcraft’s Bonanza, promising flights at a fraction of the cost of a jet charter
BeechcraftA
ttracting new entrants to the business
and general-aviation market has long
been a challenge for the industry.
The cost of buying, hiring or even fly-
ing in a private aircraft is beyond the reach of
most people, and consequently access to this
elite sector has largely been restricted to corpo-
rations or high-net-worth individuals.
A handful of innovative, little-known com-
panies have begun to change this perception,
however, through the introduction of ride-
sharing technology.
By offering spare seats on privately owned
and piloted aircraft to individuals who are
seeking to reach the same destination, these
websites have helped to make private-aircraft
travel accessible to a far wider audience.
“We have simply designed a forum for pri-
vate pilots with an empty plane to share the
cost of his travel expenses with someone head-
ing in the same direction,” says Steve Lewis,
co-founder and chief executive of US-based
AirPooler.
Pilots post destination details and the num-
ber of seats available, he explains. The passen-
down the cost of flying to a more affordable
level,” he says. “The use of shared-economy
technology just makes that a whole lot easier.”
Types of aircraft typically posted in ride-
sharing sites are single- and twin-engined, pro-
peller-driven models such as the Cessna TTx
and Beechcraft Bonanza respectively.
The cost of sharing a ride on these aircraft is
significantly cheaper than commercial charter,
as Guichard explains: “An air-taxi flight from
Boston to Nantucket will cost around $1,500 on
a small, traditional private jet. The same jour-
ney costs around $100 on a piston-engined type
if you share the expenses with the pilot. Even
less if there is more than one passenger.
“It is affordable because, unlike the commer-
cial operator, the pilot is not making any
money from the service. It is, purely and sim-
ply, a cost-sharing exercise and a win-win for
both parties,” Guichard continues.
Flytenow launched in January to fill what
Guichard describes as a gaping void in the pri-
vate air travel market. “There are 25 million
non-commercial flight hours conducted every
year in the US, and thousands of private pilots
are flying with empty seats,” he says. “Added
to that there are up to 5,000 airports open to