See below, from Wingly.
Admittedly it is getting a bit ridiculous with people offering "London tours" on Wingly, which is basically looking like public transport.
eg
https://www.wingly.io/en/flights/2056457
£800 per hour for an R44 self fly hire?, that doesn't sound like "cost sharing" to me
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As you know, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been working on amending cost sharing regulations in the UK. Their initial amendment proposal, communicated in December 2022, was incompatible with how PPL pilots use Wingly.
After meeting with Wingly and the AOPA on the 6th of April 2023, CAA officials took note of our concerns and later communicated that they will be reconvening to revise their proposal. They reassured us, expressing that the new regulation's primary focus lies on addressing illegal grey charters, with no intention to harm compliant cost-sharing platforms like Wingly.
Wingly was met with great disappointment after receiving the CAA’s revised proposal on the 26th of June. The CAA chose to ignore the arguments presented by general aviation stakeholders. After carefully analysing the text, it appears the outcome will likely remain unchanged.
The CAA’s new wording is as follows:
No advertisement or promotion of a cost shared flight is permitted unless the following conditions are met:
i. The advertisement is placed by the pilot intending to operate the flight.
ii.The advertisement relates to a specific flight that the pilot intends to take place, regardless of whether passengers are available for carriage, and should include the start and end locations, as well as the dates when the pilot intends to conduct the flight.
Reasons why this wording is problematic
👉 Point ii suggests that pilots will be obligated to operate each flight they advertise, ‘regardless of whether passengers are available for carriage.’ However, this is the opposite of how Wingly works. We offer our pilots the opportunity to advertise flights they enjoy operating, including their potential availability. If they find passengers to join them, then they will fly, if not, the flight will likely not go ahead.
👉 The CAA is creating overregulation which will damage General Aviation. There is no certainty that this amendment proposal will prevent illegal grey chartering, but it will definitely punish honest private pilot citizens and flight sharing platforms. It is highly likely that Wingly will cease operations in the UK if this regulation is implemented.
👉 The regulation process is flawed from the beginning. The CAA established a working group to review cost sharing regulations in the UK and produced a consultation in November 2021. Anybody from the public was able to share their opinion through a link they provided. The results, published in December 2022, highlighted the lack of statistical data collected to make a profound study and analysis on the matter.
It is deeply concerning that the CAA is prioritising online opinions over evidence provided by aviation experts which make us question the credibility of their decision-making process.
How you can help us oppose this regulation proposal
United as a community, we cannot allow the CAA to harm General Aviation. Taking action together is essential to challenge this unfair regulation proposal.
✅ Sign our petition: Together, we can bring the government's focus to our cause and encourage the press to challenge the CAA's proposal.
Sign Petition ✍️
✅ Write to your MP: ✉️ Wingly’s team, together with the AOPA, are preparing a new letter template that you will receive in the forthcoming weeks. We then kindly ask you to sign it and send it to your MPs.
Why is sending this letter crucial? The CAA has rejected our suggested changes and has proceeded in sending it to the DfT. We need as many MPs as possible to write to the DfT to stop this regulation and push for a change in wording.
We would like to thank you for your invaluable help and will be in touch.
We hope to see you in the air soon,
Ali Javed
UK Operations Manager at Wingly