With the advent of the Very Light Jet (VLJ) market, the on-demand aviation scene is integrating these aircraft to provide more affordable options to the individual traveler. In the past, many businesses and other groups have benefited from point-to-point travel through charters and junkets. The benefits of on-demand aviation include increased safety, security and flexibility in scheduling and destinations. Using general aviation aircraft and/or commuter aircraft opens up additional air spaces that are typically off limits to commercial airlines due to the size of the aircraft.
In order to accommodate the single passenger, businesses are incorporating or creating air taxi systems and/or fractional ownerships. Air taxi companies often try to group individual passengers according to their destinations and flight times to keep the cost affordable and maximize the economic benefits of an air taxi system. Fractional ownership involves purchasing a set number of hours per year and sharing in the expense of maintaining and operating the aircraft. Both of these systems allow for more customized travel to suit the needs of passengers without individual passengers having to be concerned with maintenance of the aircraft, employing pilots, and the liability of operation.
The flexibility of on-demand service may shift a significant number of travelers from commercial aviation operations, but on-demand aviation will not be without its challenges. It is likely that the majority of air taxi companies, charter companies, and/or fractional ownerships will not be owned or operated entirely in-house. Companies will outsource, or contract out, various portions of the business so that the owner of the plane, the maintenance personnel, the flight crew, and the individual in charge of flight booking may all be employees of different companies. This raises the concern of responsibility for oversight of the entire operation and how that affects the accountability and/or liability of the component operations such as the maintenance of the aircraft and responsibility for the flight crew. Contracts between the parties for the products and/or services are common, but these contracts may also contain clauses regarding the assumption or waiver of liability. In the event of an accident, determining which company should be held responsible may be complicated. The Motley Rice aviation team is experienced in highly technical and multi-faceted litigation involving commercial and on-demand operations.
