Hawker445

https://nxtstartup.in/business-news/...JAnaTiCe4MiYs0



Am i losing my memory or have we already gone through these attempts with flight sharing?

These guys have been operating for a year. At first used a service called hitch" where a pilot would (maybe they would) share their flight to and from a destination; But they removed that from their site a few months ago. Now i'm not sure what they're doing with these individuals and these "commercial pilots"


If that's not wha they're doing and pairing people to actual companies with an operating certificate (like surfair and jetsuit X), I'm not even sure I understand their business model. Their CEO Rudd Davis is a complete sleaze bag from what i've been told from someone that attempted to work with him.

This company is a huge red flag, a middle finger to the rest of us earning our certificates and going through extensive training so that these very people can be SAFE.

I really don't understand why the FAA hasn't shut these people down.



I've looked through these peoples Linkedin profiles and not a single person has any background in aviation other than attempting to get their PPL.

PerfInit

www.flyblackbird.com

In reading their “terms and conditions”, they acknowlwedge and state that they are not an FAA certificated air carrier but merely a “marketplace” (sounds to me like a broker). They defer to the “Third-Party Service Providers” (flight crews and/or aircraft available for lease). Hmm...

rickair7777

Idiots. Give 'em enough rope to hang themselves.

Soon enough they'll be under investigation for unlicensed charters, and buried by lawsuits filed by the family of crash victims who didn't realize their pilot was an amateur airborne uber driver.

diamnd15

bump...has anywhere heard what the FAA thinks of this?

SeamusTheHound

So apparently Blackbird is just the "marketplace" for planes that are available for rental or lease, and the renters need to employ a qualified pilot to fly, conveniently located through the list of qualified pilots associated with each plane.

They also say that you can "share" available seats with other Blackbird community members, but the rules prohibit charging those additional passengers for travel.

Totally sketchy arrangement. Totally convoluted way of using Part 91 rules to do Part 135 flying. They blatantly "hold out" to the public in their advertising. Customers have no idea what they are getting into.

It won't end well.

BobbyLeeSwagger

Just got an email from them.. Agree with you guys.. Sounds sketch at best.

Hawker445

What'd it say?

They don't physically 'interview' these community pilots on their network. It's like Uber but worse. They just leave it to the flight school wherever these aircraft are being rented from. There are a number of Bay Area flight schools that banned people from using planes for this.

I seriously have no idea how the FAA hasn't canned these guys.

I got up to a phonecall with them. The questions the guy was asking told me he had no dang clue what he was asking since none of them have experience with this.

When I was asking questions he just directed me to ask another person.
Flat out told him don't ever call me again and delete every ounce of my information that he had and hung up on me.

JasonBlair

In an FAA letter this week…

“We have considered the June 10, 2019 letter from BlackBird Air, Inc. (BlackBird), that set out many aspects of its business model and operating assumptions. The information that BlackBird has presented leads us to conclude that the pilots participating in BlackBird's platform and using its app are holding out and thus are engaged in common carriage.”

Going on….

“In sum, the FAA has concluded that pilots' use of the Black:Bird platform constitutes "holding out" and participating pilots are engaged in common carriage. Because these operations are subject to part 119 certification, a pilot who holds an airline transport pilot or commercial pilot certificate must obtain and hold a certificate issued under part 135 or the pilot must be employed by a company operating the flight that is certificated under part 119.”

And….

“Accordingly, please expect further investigative activity into BlackBird's operations, particularly regarding its pilot database.”

Want to read more about this, view the full letter at http://jasonblair.net/wp-content/upl...ird_Letter.pdf

SonicFlyer

Yep, leave it to the government to stifle competition, innovation, and the ability for consumers to choose.

tomgoodman

Those Federal busybodies and their pesky rules! Too many crashes are bad for business, and consumers would migrate elsewhere, so why not let the free market handle safety matters?