The EASA ruling goes against all the regs I remember from my flying days. There were illegal charters galore; I remember one PPL doing six return trips to the IoM in one day during TT week, and his friend killing himself south of Port Erin while on his way to collect the passengers at the end of race week. The CAA sent a warning letter to the airfield but it made no difference, and the legal air-taxi on the field went bust. The one thing that did stop it was the advent of Jersey European and its new SD3-30s, undercutting the illegal charters.
Had anyone else died rather than Mr Sala we would never have heard a thing about it. I hadn't heard of Wingly until now, and I am horrified by its implications. Maybe it's time to educate the public with regard to insurance. I don't know if aircraft insurance covers hire or reward, mine certainly excluded it but that was 30+ years ago. Similarly my life assurance excluded flying other than in commercial aircraft with more than one engine. My company did cover me at an extra 20% on my premiums.
All very boring I admit, but the mortgage companies insist on life cover as a condition of the policy. What happens if/when the next fatal occurs? One of the big companies today charges an extra £12 per month per £100,000 life cover for light aviation, so a typical £250,000 mortgage would require an extra £30 per month. Does this apply to passengers? How do the insurance companies view this charter business, and shouldn't the public know about it?