Ride-sharing start-up Flytenow is considering appealing a US court ruling to uphold the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ban public platforms that promote the sharing of private aircraft flights by owners and pilots.
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on 18 December that the Boston-headquartered company cannot overturn the agency’s judgement, issued in August 2014, which declared such ride-sharing services are commercial operations and all websites promoting such offerings should be shut down.
The FAA also pronounced in its ruling that pilots who share the cost of their expenses with passengers must acquire Part 119 certification, reserved for common carriers, such as airlines.
“The FAA’s interpretation is consistent with the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions,” the US court declared.
The decision has been a huge blow to a fledgling industry, triggering the closure of Flytenow and fellow ride-sharing website pioneer AirPooler.
“The FAA has taken a heavy-handed approach to this market,” says Alan Guichard, co-founder and chief operating officer of the two-year-old Flytenow. “Now the court is backing them up.”
He explains that ride-sharing portals such as Flytenow and AirPooler are merely a forum for pilots with spare seats on their small privately-owned aircraft, such as Cirrus SR22 and Cessna 172 piston singles, to share the cost of their travel expenses with someone "heading in the same direction".
“They are not a common carrier like an airline, as nobody is seeking a profit,” says Guichard.
“Pilots have always relied on ride-sharing as a way of reducing their expenses, bringing down the cost of flying to a more affordable level,” he continues. “The use of shared-economy technology just makes that a whole lot easier.”
He says it is proving a huge challenge to persuade the US legal system to overrule a government agency. “The current state of the law is extremely deferential to regulatory actions, at the expense of innovation,” he says. “The court relied on that regulatory deference, and the result is less choice for consumers and less innovation in general aviation.”
Flytenow is refusing to give up, however. “We may lodge an appeal and put our case before all the [Columbia] court judges – only three heard it this time, “ says Guichard. “We also have a bill pending in Congress."
Called the aviation cost and expense sharing act of 2015, the proposed legislation would allow pilots to communicate with the public, "in any manner the person determines appropriate, to lawfully share expenses with his or her passengers,” Guichard says. "The bill is gaining support from a number of congressmen, and we are optimistic that this industry will finally get the recognition it deserves.”
Source: Flight International
