Indeed, but if one (or more) of the passengers have arranged and paid for the supply of the plane, and the pilots were just a hired crew to fly it, the flight is legal and that's the end of it.
Utter rubbish.
You can not fly a C172 (or Citation) from A to B and have the sole passenger pay all the costs of the flight to the club (company) it is hired from while claiming that it is not public transport. It simply flies in the face of all the rules regarding public transport, cost sharing etc.
Never forget that in the case of a Private flight then Pilot is the operator and has all the responsibilities that go with that.
Hiring an aircraft from an organisation or individual does not confer ownership rights. Agreeing to pay for a certain number of hours on the aircraft does not confer ownership.
In order to claim that one is the "owner" of the aircraft then one must have title to the aircraft......it could be for a limited time but it must be legally completed...........not just a hire agreement - eg you do not own a hire car when you hire it.
Many aircraft assets are owned by companies or trusts. Thus no physical person owns the aircraft. The ownership rests in the company - a separate legal entity.
All of these "schemes" are rubbish. They are simply ways to justify to people how the operation is carried out and to try an claim that it is legal.
The CAA issue very clear explanations of Public Transport. Those explanations are not limited to certain aircraft classs or types not to certain licence holders.
Regards,
DFC