There is an advertised effort in Silicon Valley(SJC) for frequent(mainly) female fliers to join in small commuter charter flights to common destinations as an effort to avoid tsa's humiliating groping. I would like to see this widely advertised for travelers to sign up for charter flights online by date. I believe a common destination like LAX would have little difficulty aquiring passengers on at least a Mo-Fr basis.
What do Forum readers think of this and is there a real possibility this could be be targeted for harrasment if successful??
...as there are probably as many men who prefer not to be groped as there are women, potentially more.
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What airplanes?
That'll help understand how it fits within the TSA rules, operating costs, etc.
Might be a charter company working to expand their client base, or fill in dead-heads flights.
From Aviation Week: Charter Companies Benefit: The continuing difficulties faced by executive travelers who fly commercially only adds to the value of private aviation.Originally Posted by sbagdon
Any links you can share?What airplanes?
That'll help understand how it fits within the TSA rules, operating costs, etc.
Might be a charter company working to expand their client base, or fill in dead-heads flights.
It seems that the airlines have been 'liminating first class seats, adding hassles (carry on bag fees), enjoying their TSA security and former first class flyers are looking more to the Air Taxi services of general aviation.
I expect this trend to continue. No scope, no grope, no excess baggage fees, you go when you want and return when you can.
it is an interesting option. thanks for posting it
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http://www.seaportair.com/
Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
Another option to consider is SeaPort Airlines.http://www.seaportair.com/
Seems too good to be true. How do they get around the clowns??
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I'm not sure exactly how they do it, but it's a legit operation. In fact, one of our TS/S mods essxjay won tickets on them, and flew them to the mod meeting..Originally Posted by TXagogo
Seems too good to be true. How do they get around the clowns??
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Maybe it has something to do with the number of pax that are transported to still be considered "general aviation"? I have no idea. But if there is a way around it I smell a HUGE business opportunity for any airline that can legally pull this off. I wouldn't even think twice about using them even if the costs were higher (yet reasonable) and the schedules were inconvenient.Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
I'm not sure exactly how they do it, but it's a legit operation. In fact, one of our TS/S mods essxjay won tickets on them, and flew them to the mod meeting..
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That must be it. I believe their aircraft only hold 15-20 people.Originally Posted by TXagogo
Maybe it has something to do with the number of pax that are transported to still be considered "general aviation"? I have no idea. But if there is a way around it I smell a HUGE business opportunity for any airline that can legally pull this off. I wouldn't even think twice about using them even if the costs were higher (yet reasonable) and the schedules were inconvenient.
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Future opportunities (not the main airports obviously, just thinking about the nearest city):Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
That must be it. I believe their aircraft only hold 15-20 people.
SFO, LAX, SAN, SMF, RNO, LAS
DFW, SAT, AUS, HOU, IAH, OKC, SHV, ELP, TUL, LIT
ORD, MKE, MSN, IND, GRB, MSP, DTW, STL, and more
MIA, FLL, MCO, TPA, JAX, SRQ, TLH, EYW
LGA, BDL, PHL, BOS, ALB, ROC, BUF, SYR, MDT, DCA, BWI
It would seem that the possibilities are almost endless, although there must be things I am not considering. I'm waiting for the catch. I wonder how fast the planes are able to fly. Flight time could be a limiting factor.
First irony is that first everyone got out of GA during the melt-down (such as the Big-3 when going to Congress), and now everyone is scrambling to get back in.
Next up is that this was already tried in Florida on a grand scale, an intra-state air-taxi service. Committed to some huge airplane purchase, then business didn't materialize, and they basically took the airplane manufacturer with them (will dig up the refs when time permits).
Living in the mid-west, there's a ton of mid-point destinations that are too far to drive quickly, yet are close enough that "commercial" isn't required.
This is going to lead to an interesting logic loop. If some airplanes are threats and some aren't, then why are some pax threats and others aren't?
Next up is that this was already tried in Florida on a grand scale, an intra-state air-taxi service. Committed to some huge airplane purchase, then business didn't materialize, and they basically took the airplane manufacturer with them (will dig up the refs when time permits).
Living in the mid-west, there's a ton of mid-point destinations that are too far to drive quickly, yet are close enough that "commercial" isn't required.
This is going to lead to an interesting logic loop. If some airplanes are threats and some aren't, then why are some pax threats and others aren't?
This is like services you can get at PDX business terminal, where there is no TSA at all, because it is all part 135 and 91 operations.
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Yep, aircraft with 19(?) or fewer seats can depart from unsecured airports (KBFI, KAST, CYWH, etc) or unsecured areas within larger airports (SeaPort's area at KPDX). Kenmore Air is another airline in the Northwest that has no TSA. Showing up 15 minutes before departure and having time to buy a cup of coffee is truly wonderful, as is flying over the San Juan Islands at 2000' to stay below the clouds.Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
That must be it. I believe their aircraft only hold 15-20 people.
There used to be a lot more of this; I remember flights from little towns coming to Stapleton in Denver where the pax were screened AFTER the flight on their way into the concourse to catch their connecting flights. I'm not sure if the rule changed or if the small planes got bigger.