We can't fly the commercial sky

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

by George Donnelly on November 22, 2010

Boycott is not enough. Due to the dangers of car travel and because it is smart to channel our consumer power into the competition, we must take our flying dollars to new providers. Thankfully, there is general aviation. "Each and every day, general aviation flies 10-fold the number of flights the airlines do in this country," a reader told us. Wow. There is a viable alternative to the commercial airlines and it doesn't involve TSA humiliation!

Planepooling is just like carpooling and reader Kirk M. even found a website where TSA-free pilots and passengers can connect. Flyshare.com says:

Welcome to Flyshare, a community of pilots brought together by the rising cost of general aviation and a desire to share our love of flying with adventurous travelers.

Flyshare's mission is simple. It's to provide a forum for pilots and passengers to connect in order to share flights. The opportunity to carry passengers on their flights benefits the pilots by allowing them to share the cost of the trip and the passenger benefits by being able to travel without being restricted by commercial flight schedules and flight patterns. Often, travelers can save money flying with Flyshare instead of flying commercially. In addition to the cost savings, general aviation flights are much more convenient. Pilots can frequently deliver you much closer to your destination than a commercial flight can.

Compared to driving, flying is much faster and, depending on the trip, can be much less expensive. A typical ground-based trip from Boston to Martha's Vineyard can take up to 8 hours. A flight in a light airplane typically takes about 40 minutes.

Flyshare is easy to use. Pilots post the trips that they are willing to take passengers on and potential passengers can view the postings that match the trips they would like to make. It is the responsibility of the pilot and passenger to negotiate the details and cost of the trip.

I even found one traveler "looking for flights for my 15 yo daughter to see grandparents over holidays, I don't want her groped and scanned nude, to say nothing of the radiation."

This isn't as quick and predictable as commercial air travel, but perhaps what we need are more solutions like this that involve opting out of the federal bureaucracy and strengthening ties with our communities.

Source

[^_^ 5,021]

So terrorists with something to hide can do this too?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

We're all terrorists now.

[^_^ 5,021]

We're all terrorists now.

ooo-kay.

[slim 1,533]

Private planes very, very, VERY seldom are searched.