Page 18 - Volume 13 Number 11

merely points people through its smartphone app to companies able to legally provide charter services using small aircraft. Once SkyRyde earns its FAA operating certificate, it intends to become a Part 135 operator and accept money for its services.
There’s one more company, Blackbird, that on the surface seems similar to FlyOtto and SkyRyde but demands more due diligence on the part of an aircraft owner thinking about handing over their airplane for lease. Head over to the Blackbird website (flyblackbird. com) and you’ll see the company promotes using “Blackbird to discover how flying can be more affordable than driving.” Who among us wouldn’t buy into that idea? Blackbird even employs a slick new smartphone app to speed the connection process. The company is currently operating along the West Coast, but soon expects to begin flying along the East Coast of the U.S. Part of Blackbird operates under Part 135, but not all of it. It’s that portion operating under Part 91 that has caused skeptics to turn a closer eye; not so much at what Blackbird is trying to do, but how they’re trying to do it. Part of Blackbird’s plan encourages general aviation aircraft owners to lease the company their airplane to be used in regular operations.
During these kinds of investigations, the phrase “holding out” regularly pops up. It’s a phrase operators use to define their company’s goal ... “to provide air carrier services to the flying public,” being an abbreviated example. Blackbird doesn’t hold itself out as a carrier, at least not at first glance. The company calls itself only, “an online marketplace that connects small aircraft, commercially-rated pilots, and people who are looking for an easy way to find them. Based on their desired route, people can rent aircraft and contract pilots to create their own itinerary. We \[Blackbird\] provide the platform to make that happen.”
Like a swim in the Great Lakes, a deeper dive means encountering places where the waters become murky. FlyOtto’s sole mission is to connect passengers to local charter operators who already operate single and light twin engine airplanes under Part 135. SkyRyde’s CEO JB Adkins said, “If we were to try and emulate Uber’s business model, which I think a lot of these aviation startups are doing, the goal would be to stay away from a lot of the existing regulations, but it’s almost impossible not to operate under Part 135. Anytime you’re transporting people for compensation, no matter how you skin it, you’re going to end up having to adhere to Part 135 regs.” Blackbird says they’re simply bringing pilots, passengers and aircraft operators together under Part 91.
Because of the contradictions in how experts view Blackbird, aircraft owners are wise to look closely at what they might be signing up for long before they sign a lease. Blackbird says because it’s operating under Part 91, not Part 135, the passenger is renting the airplane and the passenger engages the services of the \[contract\]
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16 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2019