FAA over reach again?

[devveldogg]

Is the FAA over stepping again?

The Federal Aviation Administration says "flight-sharing" -- when online services connect private pilots with passengers willing to split the cost -- is against the law. But one startup is fighting back, CBS News' Don Dahler reports.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/flyteno...de-sharing-for-air-travelers/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17

 

[msinger]

Or perhaps it's just another example of trying to prevent commercial aviation jobs from being taken away. The FAA claims their top goal is air safety, but it really seems like a cover to protect jobs.

 

[devveldogg]

I had thought that too, especially when they want a PPL to fly a UAV commercially .

 

[msinger]

It's not uncommon for aviation related groups/companies to push back on the FAA when people want to try new things like this. The same thing is occurring for people who want to take photos for commercial use. These groups are pushing the FAA to require Phantom pilots to have a pilot license -- just like these people are being pushed to have a commercial pilot license.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

It's Uber for airplanes... who knew?

 

[SteveMann]

I am a member of FlyteNow. I really don't think the FAA can win this one. It's just taking the bulletin board at the airport cafe with the note "I am flying this weekend, who wants to come with me?" and putting it on a website. You have to be a pilot to join FlyteNow, so the website is actually more secure than the corkboard next to the Coke machine in the airport cafe, where anyone, not just pilots can make the connection.

In an email from FlyteNow a couple of months ago:

We are also challenging the ruling on Constitutional grounds. Everyone, including the FAA, agrees that expense sharing among pilots is in accordance with current Federal Aviation Regulations. The only thing that has changed is the means of communication. Rather than pilots sharing their travel plans via phone, email, or a bulletin board at a regional airport, they now communicate those plans via Flytenow (the Internet). By requiring a Part 119 certificate for pilots to communicate their flight plans online, the ruling imposes an impermissible constraint on speech.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

I am a member of FlyteNow. I really don't think the FAA can win this one. It's just taking the bulletin board at the airport cafe with the note "I am flying this weekend, who wants to come with me?" and putting it on a website. You have to be a pilot to join FlyteNow, so the website is actually more secure than the corkboard next to the Coke machine in the airport cafe, where anyone, not just pilots can make the connection.

Common sense would agree with you but we all know $$$ is all that matters in these situations. The airlines will pressure them into it so they do not lose out. The same way the taxi services shut down Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and others in many cities around the US. It is a sad state of affairs when $$$ is put above the greater good.