Thread: PlaneRed To Taunt Airlines, TSA

Originally Posted by http://www.forbes.com/sites/edzitron/2011/06/29/planered/

PlaneRed is an all-you-can-eat flight subscription launching around September 1st 2011 that will fly just below the TSA’s radar – using 9-person planes to dodge under their screening of any plane carrying over 10 passengers. The subscriptions will work as such – passengers will pay around $150 a month for access to a booking system much like a city bus, able to book on popular routes on the east coast, serving Atlantic City, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C.. They hope to expand quickly to Boston, and then open up new runs in Texas, California, and the Midwest. Eyerly sees it as a ‘win-win’ for customers – 14-passenger planes organized in a luxury set-up to make the journey just a little bit more pleasant.

PlaneRed sounds like an interesting idea on paper, treating flight like public transportation. I am curious as to the total average cost for a flight compared to a big airline. Hopefully, this shakes up air travel.

This does sound interesting, but I'm curious as to what they will be doing in terms of security if they are going "below the TSA's radar".

On planes with less than 10 passengers, TSA screening guidelines do not have to be followed. This is what they meant by that.

I'm honestly uncomfortable with the prospect that any of the other eight passengers could have illicit items with them.

I think it's about time flight be looked at as public transportation. Unfortunately, i don't know if this plan will (mind the pun) get off the ground. I think it could either be a huge success or a huge flop. It seems affordable and useful, but we'll see.

There are already similar flights in MA where small planes (about that size) are used to commute people from the mainland to the islands (Block, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket) That seems to be working out fine for those companies.

I like the concept. It would be perfect for regional routes like Houston-Dallas-San Antonio-Austin, for example.