Will your schedule support working day trips? Meaning, a flight leaving early enough to be wheels down by 9 AM at the destination, then a flight out around 4-5 PM on the same day? Do you have plans for working with a rental car service at the private terminal?
Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
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Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
These are one-way flights. Flights between SFO-LAX are sometimes cheaper if you book weeks in advance. The point of Jumpdrive is you still get a cheap fare without booking weeks in advance. We're working on redoing the site.
Do you think the cheap fare is the value proposition? Or is the private terminals and fast service? That sounds very appealing. I mean, it can be both - save money AND time. All the TSA experience is awful (business travelers in the US have the pre-screen and stuff of course, but they're probably not your target).
I think the value prop is cheap fares without booking weeks in advance and fast checkins at the private terminals.
I agree, TSA is awful, so hopefully our solution will be more resolve this issue.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am actually slightly tempted. It's of course not a cheap option, but I think one thing putting me off is my impression that, if I rented a plane, I'd be paying for the rental the entire time it sits on the ground at my destination, which is hard to swallow.
That's a common misconception. Plane rental is charged by the time the magnetos are energized which in turn is measured by the Hobbs meter. Having said that, many places often have a minimum number of hours per day to prevent someone taking a plane all weekend for two billable hours. Flying as a hobby is a lot like boating - the happiest day of your life is when you sell your boat/plane. The second happiest day is wh…
Also consider that if you want airline-like regularity, you need an IR (Instrument Rating), which is sometimes (usually?) harder and more expensive than the PPL itself. Then you want to consider if you want to fly your family in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) at night. Many people including me would only want to this is a twin engine aircraft or at least an aircraft equipped with a ballistic parachute (this means a Cirrus SR22 or similar). Anyway, both options is at 2-4x the cost of a the typical $130/h rental.
Not as of a big issue in CA, but in the winter, you also probably want to cruise above the freezing level, so add to this a FIKI (Flight Into Known Ice) certified aircraft. Again, more $$$.
In the end though, flying your own aircraft is an immensely gratifying experience on many levels, and despite all of the caveats above, I wholly recommend getting your PPL.
Yes, with just your PPL in hand, you might have to wait out some weather or choose conditions based on your experience and equipment, but as long as you know those limitations, it's actually not a big deal, especially in California.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#104Any plans on allowing "plus one" guests? For example, a subscriber may use the service for $WORK most of the time, but occasionally the SO may tag along by paying a one-time ticket, perhaps at a slight premium.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#105Do unused flight credits roll over?
Hi, they don't roll over. But we're working on a feature where users can transfer unused flight credits to family and friends.
That's a major win against traditional airlines if you could transfer your flights to someone else.
I think you wanted to make sure the best price option is in the middle but it threw me off a bit. Consider putting them left to right, from worst deal to best? Also, consider using numbers instead of words: 2 flights, 4 flights, 6 flights?
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am actually slightly tempted. It's of course not a cheap option, but I think one thing putting me off is my impression that, if I rented a plane, I'd be paying for the rental the entire time it sits on the ground at my destination, which is hard to swallow.
That's a common misconception. Plane rental is charged by the time the magnetos are energized which in turn is measured by the Hobbs meter. Having said that, many places often have a minimum number of hours per day to prevent someone taking a plane all weekend for two billable hours. Flying as a hobby is a lot like boating - the happiest day of your life is when you sell your boat/plane. The second happiest day is wh…
I mean everything you say is totally true. I'm also a PPL/ASEL guy myself.
Don't leave out the part where you get the excitement of learning how to fly a fucking plane all by yourself though.
That part is super fun, and despite my agreement that it's not the most practical hobby I don't regret it even slightly.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#107This could be a nice way for a parked plane to help pay for itself in part.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#108Maybe a good idea, but the site does a bad job of selling it. The front page starts with a big rant about how bad existing airlines are. That's not how you sell things. You should focus on what you do, which is SFO-LAX flights through private terminals on a monthly subscription. The private terminal is a huge win -- it saves a good hour on travel. But that's buried in the FAQ. You should redesign so that all of the f…
Thanks for the great feedback. This was our site's first draft so we really appreciate your comments. We'll definitely update it and keep your points above the fold on the homepage. We weren't aware that the private terminals are such an appealing feature to people, but that aspect has been a feature that we've been receiving a lot of positive feedback about so we appreciate you pointing it out. Thank you again and w…
Minor optimization for the phone image? Have it show the next flight that could reasonably be booked if I had the app installed, rather than one from 2017. As in, if you had this app, you could be on the (it's 2.05 right now) 2:30 pm flight, just press this button. Helps drive the immediacy and ease home.
Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78
#109Question in my mind as a user of LAX: WHERE is the private terminal and does it get me out of the nightmare of LAX evening traffic? That would be a strong point in your favor. And also, does rideshare pick up there smoothly? Will you be working with Uber/Lyft to make sure that they are fully aware of the location? What about rental car services, are any accessible from the private terminal?