All airlines carry passengers, but US carrier Surf Air is an airline with a difference. Its passengers are classified as members as the company has taken a popular model used in corporate aviation to develop a private member airline flying across the US state of California, but latter into other markets across the country and abroad.
Surf Air believes its all-you-can-fly membership service will revolutionise the world of air travel, suggesting it will bring back the ease and allure of flying that has been lost in endless lines, overburdened systems and heavy fees. “Surf Air members will fly the way you should—saving valuable time, eliminating hassle and always flying first-class,” it says in its corporate literature.
The airline launched operations on June 12, 2013 between Burbank and San Carlos with four round trips every day. It launched service to Santa Barbara on July 10, 2013 with another four round trips every day and plans to add flights to Monterey, Palm Springs, San Diego, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, and the Sonoma/Napa area.
The HUB sat down with Mac Kern, planning and revenue strategy, lead officer, Surf Air at World Routes in Las Vegas, to find out more about the business model, how Surf Air plans to develop and why this way of thinking could change the way businessmen travel in the future.