Later this week the U.S. Supreme Court will review the Flytenow case, which is kind of extraordinary. Flytenow is one of several businesses launched to connect pilots with travelers going to the same destination who want to share expenses. The FAA determined that doing so the way that Flytenow promoted and delivered its services made it fall under the definition of “common carrier,” which would require that each Flytenow pilot member obtain a commercial operating certificate to hold out transportation services to the public.
Yet all that Flytenow and other similar companies did was connect pilots with passengers. It is perfectly legal for pilots and passengers to share flight expenses, as long as they are going to the same destination and not just for the purpose of transporting the passenger to that destination. In other words, the pilot has to be going there as well, not just because the passenger wants to go there. Pilots have been carrying passengers this way for years, and before the rise of the Internet presumably they connected with each other via bulletin boards, word of mouth or chance meetings at airports.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
More In Safety
