So let me get this straight. The idea is you sign up as a member of this new flight share service, called FlyteNow, and then you get the chance to book a flight with a small plane owner/pilot instead of booking a regular scheduled flight? And you may not get to save any money either, because regular domestic flights are still great value for money?
Yep, we can really see that working out. Trading a cramped noisy tin can for a cramped noisy smaller tin can, with random schedule times and an ‘enthusiast’ pilot really strikes us as being one of the best ideas we’ve probably heard. Not. And when you throw in the fact that the price is around the same, it gets even worse.
Not to mention, the flights are called ‘adventures’ to get around FAA rules (you can’t charge people for flights without being licensed and stuff) which means there’s no protection if you’re suddenly re-routed to Alaska due to bad weather. Anyhow, it’s an interesting idea, which will be worth watching. If only to see how fast the FAA change the rules to ban the loophole.
I don’t particularly like the idea of flying with someone who’s not a commercial pilot, but I do see advantages.
I live ten minutes bicycle ride from Rotterdam airport which no longer has a direct service to Manchester (UK), which is close(ish) to my sisters.
Flying from Rotterdam, which is not so big as Schiphol, I wouldn’t have to check in more than 45 minutes before the flight.
To fly from Schiphol costs me at least an hour travel time, 13 euros bus and train fare or a lot of money to park there and I have to check in two hours in advance.
If a private pilot was going anyway, I might consider doing it.
Ahh..a valid use case. Thanks. :) I’m still not sure I’d do it, but then again I don’t really have a pressing need.
Nigel, thanks for this write up! I’m one of the founders of Flytenow and just wanted to chime in. We’re not trying to be a knockoff airline, nor are we a means of transportation. All adventures are round trip, same day. We’re just a bunch of guys who love flying and want to share it with more people. That’s the purpose of the site. An affordable and easy way to experience flight in it’s true form!
seems this article has very much misunderstood, sensationalised and erroneously reported what this is about. But then again that is what journalists seem to do,
It seems to me much more about pilots sharing a ride with an enthusiast to somewhere interesting that they might be going, like a local fly-in, visit to a museum, or interesting place. Certainly not anything to replace any type of commercial transport, or even charter flight. If I had a spare seat going to Duxford at the weekend, I might be someone who would offer my flight. But as it says on the website, the flight might be cancelled for any reason, such as the weather, or I just decide not to go.
We do this all the time, I know a group of people who like to come flying and I offer them a trip I might be going on, someone usually comes along, other times they don’t and I go anyway. Sometimes we don’t go at all if the weather is bad.
Yes, I’m getting to understand that. However, I think in mitigation I’d just like to say that we journalists can only really go on the information that’s presented to us via websites etc, and from the original website we definitely had the impression it was a sort of Uber like flight service. Apologies to all if this is not the case, but again, we were not the only online organ to make this mistake I believe.