This is legal in the UK too, under the new EASA rules. It appearst to be just cost sharing, with the differences being
We have had various threads on these new rules e.g. here here
The second one above seems to be what this French outfit is proposing.
In the UK, people used to advertise “seat sharing”, via numerous websites, which is legal, but in reality nearly all the flights advertised involved cost sharing because that is the only way in which most UK PPLs (especially renters) are able to fly.
Thank you all for your comments. I was dubious about the legality of these schemes as I just returned from stamping my license/certificate US and was “fresh” from learning the FAR interpretation of it.
Sites like that, created by start-up firms, are blossoming in France. Here is another one: Off we fly
“Mix usefulness and incredible experiences !”
Their FAQ is quite detailed:
What is the operating principle of OWF?
OWF connects pilot flying privately (in the same way that an individual drove his car to a private path) and passengers who wish to enjoy the opportunity of a flight to move. Can be summarized in one word: le “co-avionnage” (“co-flying” ?).
How does the distribution of costs? What to Know About It?
Pilots who file their flights on OWF indicate the estimated cost of the trip based on the cost of the flight hour they deserve to rent the unit and different fees (parking, landing …). The flight time includes the liability insurance of the device, fluid for operation of the unit (gasoline, oil, glycol deicing …) and maintenance. According to the laws of air law and the interpretation of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation about that the pilot can share the direct costs of this flight with passengers equally. However it can not be asked to contribute to the cost of training or you pay the entire flight. It can not be remunerated for the transport service because it is indeed a private flight and not a commercial flight.
Depending on the air time cost of the flight may be higher or lower than the initial estimate of the pilot. The drivers and passengers are completely free to discuss this topic on the day of the flight, or before, and agree among themselves on the modalities. The total price is divided by the number of aircraft occupants, there are more passengers and more interesting! To achieve cost sharing, you can use cash or checks. The pilot could choose to refuse checks if it considers that a risk not to collect from the passenger (blank check), so this should be discussed before the flight.
How to verify that the driver does not try to charge me more than my share of flight?
The tariffs charged by the flying club aircraft for leasing are public and can be found on the website of the flying club or onsite directly. Landings of fees shall be paid upon landing by the pilot in order to benefit from the most advantageous rate. Otherwise these are mailed several weeks with an increase. In most cases you will know the amount of these taxes the same day. Know that for modest airfields they rarely exceed 10-15 € + parking fees if the aircraft remains sleep a day or two there. If the aircraft does not come from a flying club then the driver considers himself the cost flight time his plane on the number of hours worked in the year. There are no means to check on OWF except to compare the hourly rates of the devices of the same type offered by other members.
I own a plane and I do not have displayed rental rate. How to estimate the cost of my flight hour?
To estimate the cost of the flight hour of his plane is a good opportunity to build on the number of hours the last year were carried out and bring the fixed costs associated with the operation of the aircraft per flight hour (maintenance, hangar fees, taxes package landings in the year …). The cost incurred by the consumer for a stretch is immediately known and it remains to add the two.
(…)
Abstract from their “best practices” doc:
5. The private flight
The pilot must never inform its passengers that the flight is done according to the rules of commercial aviation. In commercial aviation as a transportation form contract is between the carrier and the passenger. The contract obliges the carrier to bring a passenger in a point A to point B in the conditions of the most drastic security. In France in majority if you need two pilots to do public passenger transport, and a CTA (Certificate
carrier). OWF with the pilot can therefore not be remunerated and should not offer in estimating the hourly rate of the flight any additional cost expenditure schedule even if it concerns air environment (device control, licensing etc). In particular, the driver may not include payment of service from OWF in the price of the flight time.
We remind you that by accepting the terms of use of OWF you agree that you do not post commercial flights or passengers do believe they are.
New flight sharing platform online (German only, for now…)
So there’s a new flight sharing platform out there and I must say, I really like it. It’s quite well-designed.
They officially start on July 1st, but pilots are already encouraged to post their upcoming flights. I just did that.
I wonder how they’re going to advertise on the “potential passengers” side of things because next to the site design, that is going to determine if it can be a success or not.
Also hope they’re visionary enough to at least add English and hopefully other major European languages, too.
They seem to be popping up like mushrooms all over Europe these days…
They seem to be popping up like mushrooms all over Europe these days…
I just wish one of them was successful. The ingredients are a well designed platform (check, for the above mentioned I’d say) and a critical mass (that’s difficult).
another one is here – http://www.weflymate.com/
the last one looks working pretty well!!!
What is the legal situation with these platforms? If I remember correctly according to JAR (now EASA) a flight was considered “commercial” if it is advertised publicly (which you do through those platforms) and the pilot is compensated for flying, i.e. the money he/she gets is more than what he/she pays for the flight. I’ve heard that any kind of payment, even a beer, makes the flight commercial according to FAA. Which means if you use such a platform:
- In Europe you should never charge more than what you pay for the airplane, fuel and all the taxes
- In the US you cannot get any money from the passengers
Is this correct?
Vladimir wrote:
If I remember correctly according to JAR (now EASA) a flight was considered “commercial” if it is advertised publicly
No, the advertisement aspect is not part of the new EASA cost sharing rules. It is now based on the previous German rules, actually even more liberal. A platform like this is fully legal.
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1428/20140919SummaryOfCatPtAwANO2009PostExemptions.pdf
achimha wrote:
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1428/20140919SummaryOfCatPtAwANO2009PostExemptions.pdf
Thanks @achimha. The document seems to be from the UK. Do you know if this is the same in all EASA countries or if they implemented additional rules?
