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Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

jumpdriveair.com

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Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#111

Post by technofiend »

durandal1 wrote: post #103
technofiend wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 (th…

All excellent points... particularly the part about how gratifying it is to fly. It is amazing.

I just wanted to expand on the part about getting your ticket in 35 hours by doing it via Part 141: if you can hack it then you'll be better prepared for instrument training which (IMHO) is also structured and rigorous. And as you stated requires even more hours, so anything to help reduce costs is (again, IMHO) welcome.

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#112

Post by technofiend »

CPLX wrote: post #106
technofiend wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>Don't leave out the part where you get the excitement of learning how to fly a fucking plane all by yourself though.

Absolutely dude! That is the best part. Although the destinations it opens up and how much closer they are is also priceless. If I had the means I'd be hopping into a Grumman Tiger or Mooney 201 and haring off to other parts of Texas or Louisiana every weekend.

One of my fondest memories is taking a Mooney 20C for a family reunion. Twelve hours of driving turned into a 5.5 hour rental which included flying there, back and some touch and goes so I could get endorsed for the plane.

Up until that point I'd never flown that high but when the Mooney growled up to 9,000 feet and the Texas summer heat fell away I was hooked. In no time at all my instructor and I descended to pass over the city park to wing waggle a few times before landing to find one of my uncles grinning and waving as we landed. It was magic.

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#113

Post by iancarroll »

dsr_ wrote: post #21
nolok wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does a "private terminal" mean ? Or rather, in what precise way is it better ? I have a vague idea of what it can provide but I'm not sure how it can shed up to an hour of time. Does it include a dedicated secrity and immigration service (so no gigantic lines) ?

No TSA security. No big-airline check-in lines. Immigration doesn't apply on domestic flights anyway.

The site says the terminal still has TSA security, which makes sense, these aren’t exactly private jets.

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#115

Post by gok »

dannyminutillo wrote: post #63
gok wrote: post #33

The screenshot shows 55 minute travel times, is that real? Current airlines generally schedule 1h25 to 1h45.

Yes, that's real. SFO to LAX takes about 55 minutes in the air. We have faster turn around than major airlines when we're on the ground because of the private terminals

So the times are from takeoff to landing, not door closing to door opening? And where is there space at SFO for a new private terminal? :)

Edit: Ohh I didn't realize that Delta just stopped their shuttle [1] ... are you just using those gates?

[1] https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Routes-End-of-Delta-We...

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#116

Post by dmode »

dannyminutillo wrote: post #92
Cd00d wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of commuter workers tend to fly Thursdays and work remote on Fridays. I'm surprised that's not a higher value day than one of the weekend days for your target.

Friday is actually the day most business travelers fly. Thursday evening has demand as well so we're looking into possibly offering some times Thursday evening too. Thanks for your feedback.

I was a consultant who flew every week for 3 years. All consultants fly out on Thursday late afternoons and early evenings. If you want to attract those travelers, you need to fly out on Thursdays.

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#118

Post by dmode »

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #85
dannyminutillo wrote: post #81

Earlier 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.

The flight tomorrow is $59. January 11th. I only looked because the entire spiel ran counter to my prior experiences. Direct on Delta, Virgin America, Alaska, etc. Oh wow the same day ones later today are the same price! I know we are splitting hairs because this isn't always the case, and what you offer is intended to always be the case along with being possibly shorter flights with quicker checkins. I just think th…

I just counted the number of one way flights this Friday between SFO-LAX. There are 57 non stop flights on that day. And this doesn't even include OAK, SJC as well as BUR, LGB, and Orange County in So Cal. Fares start at $49. This will be a hard market to compete.

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#119

Post by StillBored »

iancarroll wrote: post #113
dsr_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No TSA security. No big-airline check-in lines. Immigration doesn't apply on domestic flights anyway.

The site says the terminal still has TSA security, which makes sense, these aren’t exactly private jets.

Which is a bit curious as it sounds like a GA terminal, which generally just have a guard who keeps random people from walking around on the tarmac.

But i'm guessing they are trying to be in the grey area between being a charter and being a full blown commercial airline service with a regular schedule, requiring them to use the normal passenger terminals (and lease/buy gate space/etc).

Re: Show HN: Monthly subscription airline with SFO-LAX flights starting at $78

#120

Post by fludlight »

dannyminutillo wrote: post #36
fludlight wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A corporate plan for x flights per month without a named passenger would be interesting, too. This would be useful for companies with employees in both cities who occasionally need to meet face to face with the other team. It would certainly be easier, faster, and probably cheaper than the cluster that arranging corporate travel currently is.

We're currently speaking with companies about something similar to this.

I noticed in your FAQ that you are flying Bombardier regional jets, which "are the same planes that are used by United Express, Delta Connection, and American Airlines".

There was a big stink* a few years ago about the big airlines using new pilots on regional routes and paying them so little that many were on food stamps. I don't want to put my life in the hands of someone who is worried about where their kids' next meal will come from. What is the starting salary for your pilots?

* https://www.wimp.com/michael-moore-pilots-on-food-stamps/

https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1wxkki/pilots_on_fo...

https://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/02/12/flyi...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23265283-pilots-on-food-...

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