Consultette

The previous threads on Surf Air had a bit of discussion, so I wanted to pass these along for consideration/commentary.

Gilt sent me an e-mail saying there is a Gilt City deal going on for Surf Air. If you'd like to try it out now is your chance for $999 (RT flight). The one month trial membership is the same as the one-month membership I've seen quoted before.

It looks like the leadership has changed hands and the operation is now run by ex-Frontier CEO Jeff Potter: http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/27/sur...eyerly-potter/

The cities have also changed a bit: http://www.surfair.com/destinations.html

I personally think the addition of Hawthorne sounds like a great idea, as does hiring someone with airline experience to run the company. I'd be curious to find more mentions of the actual services aside from the source quoted for the article - does anyone have any links?

When I first heard of the company I didn't think they stood a snowball's chance in hell. With the new leadership, new strategy and more professional presentation I see them as now having a fighting chance. Will still be curious to see how they tackle the FAA Part 135 safety certification though.

darthbimmer

Every time I see a mention of Surf Air (and services like it) I ask myself the question, "Who is this a fit for, other than the obvious target demographic of execs, VCs, high-dollar consultants, and wealthy leisure travelers who need frequent travel between the Bay Area and LA?" Yes, there certainly are people in that category, but I believe that to sustain a business Surf Air will have to reach at least slightly beyond the elite few.

Here's an outline of one of my business contacts, who may or may not be a fit:

"Ted" is middle manager in IT at a major employer in LA. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife. They own a house there, and their kids attend school nearby.

Ted's job requires him to work onsite at the LA facility at least 4 days a week. He currently does a weekly commute. By booking in advance and being slightly flexible about travel dates and times, he can get WN fares currently as low as $69 o/w though sometimes he has to spend $99 or more.

Let's estimate Ted's monthly spend on airfares at $620.

Now, the entry level cost of SurfAir is $1k/month more. But it's not a direct comparison because the customer experience is very different from flying commercially. So the question is, for a person like Ted is the extra $1k, or $250 per week, worth the convenience, comfort, and time savings?

Consultette

How is Ted housed in LA? I did the opposite commute (OC to SJC) for about 6 months. I would fly up weekly and stayed in a corporate apartment. If Ted's job is flexible enough where he does not work super late hours/early mornings onsite AND he lives/works close enough to the airports this could become a daily commute instead of weekly - eliminating the need for housing in the second city.

The drawback is that the customer can only have 4 reservations at a time - so he really can't plan his whole week at one time.

darthbimmer

I agree, for anyone who has to pay for housing at their work location, switching from a weekly commute to a daily roundtrip by airplane cuts out a big cost right there. In Ted's case he stays with relatives in LA/OC so his out of pocket cost for housing is minimal. I don't have insight into whether there are nonfinancial costs to the arrangement-- like "But Mom loves having me visit so much!" or "My brother is getting pretty sick of having me camp out in his guest room."

Can you increase your reservation account by paying a higher monthly fee?

RichardInSF

I wonder if any of these airports have rental car facilities. Typically you'd need it at least at one end. In the case of San Carlos, it looks like you have to book with Hertz and they will bring the car over from Redwood City, allegedly before arrival. Do you then have to take the driver/rental agent back to Redwood City?