Rising airline with a new revolutionary business model
Rating:
Loading...In the summer of 2013, a start-up called Surf Air began flying a single-engine between Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.
The plane might have had only eight passenger seats, but it boasted a revolutionary business model. Rather than buy tickets, its passengers paid a monthly membership fee that let them fly as often as they wanted. And rather than use main terminals at international airports, it flew to smaller destinations, with easier passenger parking and no queues. Members underwent security screening at the time of joining, thus simplifying airport checks and allowing them to arrive at the terminal 15 minutes before take off.
Today its 12 aircraft operate 90 flights a day, connecting 12 Californian cities. It has 3,000 members, each paying $1,950 per month, and hopes to turn its first profit in the next quarter.
Now, the membership airline is coming to Europe. Surf Air set up a London office in January and is currently recruiting members. In October it plans to begin flights between London, Zurich, Geneva, Cannes and Dublin, using four aircraft, adding Paris soon after.
If you wanted to fly 20 times a month you could do that — in fact one member in California flew 26 times in a month — but probably more important to members is that the airline is taking away the pain of big airports and big aeroplanes – says Simon Talling – Smith, chief executive of Surf Air Europe.
Varchev Traders Read more:
If you think, we can improve that section,
please comment. Your oppinion is imortant for us.
