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Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

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Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#51

Post by frobozz »

jasonkester wrote: post #24
hammock wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the weekday traffic is business travelers, who have meetings scheduled and need to be guaranteed on the ground at a certain time. That would certainly work for a lot of leisure travel though. Part of the reason why it's considered a sign of a civilized country if their trains run on time.

Actually, I think it would work a lot better for business travelers, since it optimizes for minimum wait time at the expense of, well, expense. If you take a commercial flight today, you are guaranteed to be at the airport for 1-2 hours, and chances are you'll pad that out a bit if you're headed to an important meeting. If you billed your time at $300/hr, wouldn't you pay a little extra to know your car-to-air time w…

The key word there is "guaranteed". I'd much rather know that I'm going to spend 1-2 hours at the airport, than have no idea.

On a leave-when-full plane, you may be there for any length of time from 20 minutes (if you are one of the last to arrive), to maybe 2 hours (if you are one of the first to arrive), to maybe 4 hours (if you arrive just as the last one leaves, and there isn't another one arriving for a while).

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#52

Post by rmc »

jasonkester wrote: post #16

I've got a better idea in the same space. I've always wanted somebody to take the idea of "leave when full" minibuses in the 3rd world and apply it to popular airline routes. How cool would it be if there was an operator running flights from Los Angeles to San Fransisco using small commuter jets with no fixed schedule and plenty of planes. You'd just turn up, buy a ticket, make your way to the gate, and get on the pl…

I've always wanted somebody to take the idea of "leave when full" minibuses in the 3rd world and apply it to popular airline routes.

Although it can result in shorter waits, it can also result in longer waits. I know people who've waited 8 hours for a cross country bus in the developing world cause the bus wouldn't leave till it was full.

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#54

Post by danssig »

pitdesi wrote: post #3

A bunch of people have tried this before... I can't think of the names off-hand, but names in a similar space that I've seen recently are http://www.emptylegmarket.com/ and http://www.flyruby.com/ I don't see how this will work - you need a huge marketplace, and even then it will generally be a lot more expensive than flying commercial. There are some limited uses like bowl games that I could see, but even then, why…

Was this before or after TSA got involved? I'm sure there is a market here for people like myself who don't ever plan to fly in or to the US again so long as the TSA are there.

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#55

Post by jasonkester »

jsavimbi wrote: post #42
jasonkester wrote: post #16

I've got a better idea in the same space. I've always wanted somebody to take the idea of "leave when full" minibuses in the 3rd world and apply it to popular airline routes. How cool would it be if there was an operator running flights from Los Angeles to San Fransisco using small commuter jets with no fixed schedule and plenty of planes. You'd just turn up, buy a ticket, make your way to the gate, and get on the pl…

> leave when full" minibuses in the 3rd world that's an awesome, albeit impractical idea. I can just picture a surly captain chewing through a bag of rambutans he bought on the tarmac while he waits until there are enough people to make it worth his while to take off while his helper abruptly stops selling tickets and disappears into the nearest bar for half an hour.

Not to mention taxiing the plane around town shouting "Las Vegas Las Vegas Go Now! Go Now!"

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#56

Post by jonnathanson »

jsavimbi wrote: post #41
jonnathanson wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a passenger on a moderate number of business/corporate/government vs. super-rich-person jets, and a top quality commercial business class or most first class products are actually a more comfortable experience, at a much lower cost) True in many cases, though not always. I think there are a lot of variables at play, all of which need to be accounted for: wait time and hassle at commercial airports vs. priva…

> it is debatably the coach experience of 10 to 15 years ago. Not even remotely. I'm going to argue the contrary, that coach-class flying reached its race to the bottom about 10-15 years ago and didn't begin to recover until discount airlines became mainstream and started to compete directly and profitably with the traditional airlines. yes, they've actually improved, believe it or not. the other variables not so muc…

I'll concede that my dates were totally arbitrary, but I believe my overall point still stands. That point, btw, was more about the relative decline of First w/r/t Coach than about the absolute decline of either. As far as I'm concerned, domestic First is nowhere near what it used to be, and it's currently approximating the Coach experience of X years ago, where X is an imprecise but extant number.

Coach, as well, is certainly nothing like it used to be. It's been getting better in recent years, to your point, but only very slightly. I think it's still somewhere in the basin of an overall historic trough, though perhaps with upward direction.

(Full disclosure: as a very tall person, I feel changes in seating configuration, etc., a lot more accutely than most people do. So it's possible my opinions are either amplified by, or colored by, my individual perspective).

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#57

Post by suking »

dhbanes wrote: post #49
suking wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I almost prefer first class with no stops vs. a PJ. Those tiny ass airplanes can make for some bumpy rides! As someone who already hates turbulence, those little planes don't help.

A G150 cruising at 43,000 ft will experience far less turbulence than a 737 at 33,000.

Never been in one, cannot verify. Didn't even know they cruised that high. Anyhow, a typical Citation X say from Denver to SLC is one hell of a bumpy ride over the rockies, luckily its a very short flight.

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#58

Post by rdl »

jonnathanson wrote: post #56
jsavimbi wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it is debatably the coach experience of 10 to 15 years ago. Not even remotely. I'm going to argue the contrary, that coach-class flying reached its race to the bottom about 10-15 years ago and didn't begin to recover until discount airlines became mainstream and started to compete directly and profitably with the traditional airlines. yes, they've actually improved, believe it or not. the other variables not so muc…

I'll concede that my dates were totally arbitrary, but I believe my overall point still stands. That point, btw, was more about the relative decline of First w/r/t Coach than about the absolute decline of either. As far as I'm concerned, domestic First is nowhere near what it used to be, and it's currently approximating the Coach experience of X years ago, where X is an imprecise but extant number. Coach, as well, is…

Efficiency has increased in coach -- tighter seat pitch, extra revenue charges for exit rows, etc., but for me, video-on-demand (or, portable video devices and in-ear-monitor headphones) makes up for a lot.

Pre-deregulation, they couldn't compete on price, so they competed on quality of perks (free food, service, etc.). Once they deregulated, they competed on price, but then started cost cutting on perks to make earnings. It was only after LCCs and the "premium experience LCCs" were successful that airlines both eliminated bundled perks and provided for-fee superior quality products for sale.

The "economy plus" type products for frequent fliers also go a long way to make economy tolerable for larger people.

I think air travel will continue to improve -- the biggest setback has been the 9/11 security increase, but other than that, the legacy carriers seem to be getting better.

I still try to drive whenever possible.

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#59

Post by rdl »

suking wrote: post #57
dhbanes wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A G150 cruising at 43,000 ft will experience far less turbulence than a 737 at 33,000.

Never been in one, cannot verify. Didn't even know they cruised that high. Anyhow, a typical Citation X say from Denver to SLC is one hell of a bumpy ride over the rockies, luckily its a very short flight.

Citation X is kind of a special case; for that route, I'd probably go with a turboprop except for "ramp appeal" and maybe in-flight noise. Citation X is exactly the wrong aircraft for that run, unless you are repositioning it or need it for later, or own it; it's the wrong choice to charter really for super short runs where it's all climbing and descending over mountains.

Re: Fly Like You're Rich With Social Flights (And Private Planes)

#60

Post by jsavimbi »

jasonkester wrote: post #55
jsavimbi wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> leave when full" minibuses in the 3rd world that's an awesome, albeit impractical idea. I can just picture a surly captain chewing through a bag of rambutans he bought on the tarmac while he waits until there are enough people to make it worth his while to take off while his helper abruptly stops selling tickets and disappears into the nearest bar for half an hour.

Not to mention taxiing the plane around town shouting "Las Vegas Las Vegas Go Now! Go Now!"

Or he lands somewhere not on the schedule in the middle of the flight and a lady with her goat gets on and has a ticket for your seat, making you stand next to the toilet for the remainder of the flight.

(true story; chicken bus, not plane)

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