shtimseht

I figured I'd open this thread as a Ask Me Anything on SurfAir. I've been a member for more than a year and would be glad to share with the FT community what I know.

pseudoswede

I'll never be a customer, but I'll give you stuff to talk about.

* How often do you use the service every month?
* Do you use it as a commuting tool (fly out in the morning, back in your own bed at night)?
* How full are your flights? How far in advance are popular routes sold out?
* What are some annoyances that you experience regularly?

shtimseht

Thanks for the Questions:

How often do you use the service every month?

Looking back at the last month I used it for 22 flight segments (all intra-California, none to Vegas). Most of the flights are from SoCal to the Bay Area. I'd say that might be an average month for me. I did see SurfAir shared an info-graphic that the #1 user booked 801 flights, presumably over their lifetime of membership.

* Do you use it as a commuting tool (fly out in the morning, back in your own bed at night)?

That's my ideal day. Up in the morning and back in late afternoon-early evening. I use it mainly as a commuting tool but when work requires me to travel I use SurfAir so a couple of times a month there is more of a large loop through the state that has me hopping between locations and overnighting between the flight days in a hotel.

* How full are your flights? How far in advance are popular routes sold out?

It depends on the route. There seems to be a cycle to the crowdedness of the flights. The SurfAir configured aircraft (Pilatus PC-12 NG) carries at most 8 passengers. Typically on my flights due to the short runway at San Carlos SQL they may limit the passengers to 7.

Generally I've observed that once the flights start to get full they'll assign the next new aircraft that is being delivered to that route and add another flight time in the schedule. That generally reduces the congestion of fully booked flights and gives the added benefit of another flight time being available for flexibility in scheduling.

The down side is that there needs to be another aircraft delivery and your congest route has to the winner of the new aircraft. More or less SurfAir has done a good job managing this but there are not as many new aircrafts being added so this will be interesting to watch, especially as summer draws to an end.

With rare exception all flights more than 1 week out are open but if you're booking with in 7 days YMMV. Looking at a popular SQL-SBA route for this week:



Most days and flight windows are open. The shaded in circles indicate that flights are full in that time widow. For example the 3 flights to SBA on Thursday leaving after 5:00 where all full. This is probably typically of the SoCal<->NorCal flights that are full on Mondays and Thursdays. It's rare nowadays that you'll have the entire plane to yourself but that did just happen to be this month.

* What are some annoyances that you experience regularly?

As an airline goes there are not that many, and none that are regular. Even then, the issues that arise are just first-world problems. I've certainly shared a lot of feedback to SurfAir on items they can improve but overall the experience has been exceptional. Not only do the concierges know you by name but so do the pilots. Never any airport hassles other than just the traffic trying to get to the airport.

One thing that is hard to get use to flying commercial when I can't fly SurfAir. As a frequent flyer (most with WN and UA) you start to notice the time that a commercial airport takes. I've gotten use to pulling into the parking lot at T-minus 20 minutes (For surf air that's be considered on-time or perhaps a little early for the flight.) Also the time to board the aircraft to taxing with the props spinning is usually less than 5 minutes.

Herb687

I fly single-engine airpanes for fun. I love flying single-engine airplanes. And I know the PT6 is a far more bulletproof, reliable marvel of engineering than any Lycoming or Continental I've ever sat behind. But, still, try as I may, I can't get comfortable with the concept of building an airline around single-engine aircraft.

Even PT6s can fail. And California has terrain.

Big4Flyer

I'm curious what the passenger demographics are like. Are they primarily business professionals or are there any people who sign up purely for leisure?

What is the customer service like? In case of weather or mechanical delays will they ever accommodate you on an airline?

shtimseht

Are they primarily business professionals or are there any people who sign up purely for leisure?

If I had to guess, I'd say about 40% of the folks are business professionals whose company has purchased a corporate membership and they are flying one of the passes for the trip. The firms range from construction, to techies, to folks in the financial industries.

40% or so are commuters, like myself, whose job is in a different part of the state than what they live. Maybe this shouldn't surprise me, but there as just about as many folks who live in SoCal and work in the Bay Area / SV Valley commuting north as there are folks who live in the the Bay Area and commute south to SoCal (the Valley, LA, OC and San Diego).

The remaining 20% are the rest. Some members have a family plan where so it's not to uncommon to see a family board the flight. I've been on a plane with college aged students flying home to their parents for the weekend. I'd say on the Vegas flights it's all leisure (adult beverages included in that one) and the weekend flights to Napa, Monterey and Palm Springs are more weighted towards the leisure crowd.


What is the customer service like?

That is one thing that SurfAir is pretty phenomenal at. You'll get to know the team of concierges by first name at your home airport. It's not uncommon for most members to strike up a conservation with them as they arrive. Usually a quick email or phone call to them is all it take. The're very quick to respond. Usually for me its a request to take care of ground transportation needs or assist me with something.

There's a back-end member care specialist that will be assigned to you as well, but my interactions have just been limited to billing and suggestions for improvement. They too are always quick to respond.


In case of weather or mechanical delays will they ever accommodate you on an airline?

I've encountered a few IROPs: weather (fog delays on take off or landing), a bird strike that grounded the aircraft until it could be inspected and an airport closure. I haven't had the need to fly commercial to get home but I've heard that they reimbursed the flight cost for some other members that needed to. I'm sure it would depend on the specific circumstances. The few times my plane was diverted to SJC or SAN because of visibility weather (apparently those airports and the aircraft are equipment with better ILS / automated landing systems), Surf Air has arranged for a Uber XL to drive us up the road back to destination airport. In each case it was about an hour more to get there.

In other instance that I can recall they moved me and some other members to a half full flight that made the first regular scheduled stop (in HHR / LA Area) and then continued on to a our destination for the diverted San Diego members.

The planes fly a circuit back and forth thorough out the day so if there there is delay early on it will propagate to the later flights. You'll get text messages about those when they do happen.

Generally speaking they know that getting to the destination is important. So if there is a delay they are really good about communicating what the delay is and what options they are working on for the members. It would be interesting to see what they on-time record is but I'm thinking its pretty good.

gooseman13

What are some of the items you've shared for improvement?

What is the airport experience like? Are there inconsistencies between airports?

What is the biggest value for you? The cost, the convenience, or the community? (or something else).

Thanks for doing this btw...very helpful.

shtimseht

What are some of the items you've shared for improvement?

Looking back at my last e-mails:
• Asking for more flight options on the “book-end” flights: Monday and Thursdays
• Allow published routes to be booked with 1 pass. – Each flight segment (takeoff-landing) counts as one pass – It would be nice if you can get the connecting flights booked as one.
• Request for SurfAir to expand their lift capacity between CLD (San Diego) and Oakland. – Interesting today in the member portal there was a survey to the members about their preferred destination from SoCal to NorCal – so I think they are evaluating this.
• Space some key connection flights so that members can make more connection route – Maybe its just me but they seem to have a number of connecting routes where the second leg leaves just slightly (0-15 minutes) before the arriving flight does. If they altered their schedule just so it’s another flight option for a member to take. For instance a SQL-SBA-CLD route would be possible or an OAK-HHR-CLD it the timing works out.
• Develop a member’s only online forum – It would be great to continue the conversations members have in the terminal and on board later on-line. You do meet some fascinating folks on the plane.
• Have more monthly e-mails to the Members – SurfAir growing at such a pace even though they do a good job communicating they could do more especially among the member population.

What is the airport experience like? Are there inconsistencies between airports?

I don’t really view it as an airport experience if you know what I mean. For one – budgeting only 20 minutes before departure is fine. I think you’ll spend longer in Starbucks getting a latte than you will the terminal. Some of the terminals have valets and you just drive up and hand them your key (HHR, SBA and SQL that I’ve used). Other airports have parking spots that are right in front of the terminal (100-200 ft).

Once parked you simply walk in to the terminal. Most are within FBOs like Atlantic a few terminals are just SurfAir only (like SQL and SBA). The flagship terminal is SBA – not very impressive on the outside but really neat in the inside – I wish they all could be like that.

The classiest in my opinion is OAK – a historic art deco terminal that Amelia Earhart departed from. The most decadent, either SJC or BUR – really fancy FBOs. I’ve also enjoyed Napa’s terminal. It’s the classic small town airport like you see in Wings. Each one really has their own charm and feel. The food is great at HHR and after a successful SpaceX launch the bar at Eureka is always lively. (Others will have to comment on Truckee, Monterey, Palm Spring and Sacramento as I haven't flown to those yet)

Once you arrive you’ll be greeted by a concierge working the desk – They’ll know you by name (they also have a picture of you on their computer terminal to remind them if needed). You’ll give them your luggage for them to weigh (30 lbs. average).

In the terminal the routine usually is a combination of restrooms then snack bar (drinks, snacks, coffee, fruit, chocolate etc.). I wish they would bring back the cheese and nuts ;(. Most terminals have two rooms to hangout in – although it varies by location. Either a sofa / chair room for more socializing or a desk/table chair room for laptop working, all have WiFi. It’s a mix of folks – some wrapping up work, some arriving, some leaving. I’d say most just transit through arriving just the 15 min before the flight and don’t really make the terminal part of their experience like some frequent flyers do with airport lounges. Occasionally I’ve gotten there early if my work was done and I didn’t want to deal with traffic. It’s not a bad place to hang do some email catchup.

Boarding is very fast – A concierge or pilot escorts you to the plane and see’s you off. The unwritten rule is that those that want to sleep watch movies sit toward the back of the plane and those that want to chat / laptop work sit towards the front. The Vegas flight is a party flight the whole way, at least on Friday nights. The in-flight experience is great, especially the new 5-bladed plane. It’s a noticeably peaceful cabin. Although they need to have someone update the Pilatus’ on-board entertainment system with new movie selections. Maybe they haven’t figured out how to yet?

What is the biggest value for you? The cost, the convenience, or the community? (or something else).

I’d say it’s time saving. It is as easy as taking an uber or riding the van pool to work. There’s no way that I could live in San Diego, keep the family happy and work in the East Bay. I have the ability to pick and choose the days that I’m in work and the days that I can telecommute. If a work issue arises I can at the last minute grab a flight to where I need to go. I’m willing to bet that there are folks working in the greater bay area that have a longer time commuting by car than I do across the state by air.

Convenience is next – No TSA, no boarding pass, no crazy terminals, no angry passengers, no credit cards, no 10 clicks or more to book a flight, change your flights whenever (there is a close-in rule only if the flight is full), no parking hassle, did I mention no TSA?

Thanks for doing this btw...very helpful.

Sure glad to share what I know.

shtimseht

I just saw that SurfAir has new member bonus offer as part of their expansion to Europe. PM me if you you want a referral link.

oenophilist

SurfAir is preparing for their European expansion:

(from an email)

Kagehitokiri

curious to see EU offering. there is at least one in EU similar to surfair flying from/to belgium.

Herb687, interesting it seems at least for twin piston if not twin engine in general that twin has more accidents because pilots do not train to fly on one. presumably capeair for example does do that training. wish i had done the reading before flying with them, would have asked the pilot after my return flight. was fun sitting in copilot seat!

henrus

You mentioned an onboard entertainment system, what does this look like and what kind of content does this have.

Is it built into the seat with a moving map and all?