keebird
Only way to fly "cheap" and legally on a small plane with a private pilot would be if the pilot is a genuine friend of yours .....
That
may be the regulation in the US. (It isn't in the UK.)
I haven't looked at the relevant FAA regulations for a long time but my recollection is that they permit private pilots to accept payment for a share of expenses (
not a fee) provided both pilot and passenger(s) are travelling to a common destination and the pilot does not pay less than the pro rata share of the direct costs - fuel, oil, airport expenses, aircraft rental fees (if any).
I don't remember friends being mentioned but, if you are correct, how do the Regs define 'friend' and 'genuine'?
foxmoth
come on guys, yes let the OP know the problems, but be positive about it and suggest ways he might be able to do this
Well said.
It's been a feature of this forum, and sometimes others, since I joined PPRuNe 15 years ago that people tend to expend more time and effort trying to find reasons why some activity is or might be illegal than in trying to think of ways in which an objective could be achieved legally.
People sometimes come up with tortuous reasoning in an attempt to support their assertion that something is illegal. I have often wondered why they don't use the same degree of effort and ingenuity to try to think of ways in which, with a few changes, it would not or might not be.
(Edit)
It will be interesting to see what comes of this:
Flight-Sharing Startup Sues FAA Over Ban on Service - Wall Street Journal
If that link fails, try:
Plane-Sharing Startup Sues FAA Over Ban on Service