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FAA Bans 'Uber for Planes' Startups

posted by janrinok on Monday August 18 2014, @03:25AM   Printer-friendly
from the are-pilots-allowed-to-accept-'gifts'? dept.

AnonTechie writes about a TechCrunch story::

There will be no "ZimRide for airplanes", according to an FAA ruling released today that prohibits private pilots from publicly offering seats on their planes in exchange for gas money, including via startups like AirPooler and Flytenow.

The decision strikes a blow to the sharing economy, and comes in response to AirPooler formally requesting a clarification of the gray area it was operating in. Banning this form of planesharing (like ridesharing for aircraft) could keep people safe by preventing them from hopping in with rookie pilots. However, it will also make it more expensive for pilots to fly since they can't share costs, reduce travel options for passengers, and kill off an entire category of startups.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by evilviper on Monday August 18 2014, @06:49PM

    by evilviper (1760) on Monday August 18 2014, @06:49PM (#82702) Homepage Journal

    Me, I dream of a world where this sort of ride-sharing is the norm,

    Yeah, it'll be just GREAT when anybody who has just gotten their pilots license can jump into the cockpit of a jumbo jet with zero hours flight-time. Damn those regulations!

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  • (Score: 1) by Wootery on Wednesday August 27 2014, @01:54PM

    by Wootery (2341) on Wednesday August 27 2014, @01:54PM (#86229)

    ...did you somehow confuse allowed to take passengers, for a price with allowed to pilot a 747? No-one is suggesting more lenient qualifications for piloting airliners.