Flytenow, Uber of the Sky

[xoxoxoBruce]

Flytenow, Uber of the Sky, has been shot down by the FAA, and lost a court appeal. It may return but not just yet.

On Friday, December 18, 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied our request to overturn the Federal Aviation Administration’s ban on Flytenow and other online flight-sharing websites.

In the Opinion of the Court, Judge Pillard held that pilots sharing expenses on Flytenow were engaged in common carriage, making them the only common carriers (i.e., commercial airliners) in history to not seek a profit.

We started Flytenow over two years ago to share the joy of flying by allowing aviation enthusiasts to meet pilots and go flying together. Enthusiasts from Boston to San Francisco experienced private flight for the first time on Flytenow - some going on to obtain their pilot certificates.

[Carruthers]

In the UK, sharing flight costs is deemed to be 'flying for hire or reward' and therefore beyond the privileges of the private pilot's licence. As such it leaves the pilot liable to prosecution.
I'm not up to date with the current state of affairs, but know that it always went on 'informally', shall we say.
I don't suppose that it ever occurred to the participants in such an arrangement as to where they would be left in the event of an accident, eg invalidated insurance and the possibility of financial ruin.
The practice may well have been cracked down upon in recent years on pain of even greater legal penalties.
I'm surprised at the situation in the US being any different until now.

[xoxoxoBruce]

From what I gather it's the same here, pilots connect through bulletin boards and informal private sharing arrangements have been allowed. But when Flytenow tried to organize an OKcupid for flyers, the FCC stepped in.