Is jet sharing, crowdsourcing at risk from new TSA Part 380 rules?

Jet sharing and crowdsourcing promises of private jet democratization and greener flights could be curtailed by TSA Part 380 security rules.

By Doug Gollan, 9 hours ago

Some jet sharing and crowdsourcing programs, pillars for selling the democratization of private jet access, could be in jeopardy from new Transportation Security Agency rules for Part 380 flights.

Clouding everything, the TSA rules, issued last week, could be washed aside by a freeze on new regulatory rules issued via executive order last night by President Donald J. Trump.

The Trump order for Regulatory Freeze Pending Review mandates government agencies:

Immediately withdraw any rules that have been sent to the (Office of the Federal Register) but not published in the Federal Register, so that they can be reviewed and approved as described (and) consider postponing for 60 days…any rules that have been published in the Federal Register, or any rules that have been issued in any manner but have not taken effect, for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.

Beyond that, it’s unclear what impact the rules would have on crowdsourcing and jet-sharing.

One source says, “The ruling does not appear to impact non-scheduled jet-sharing offerings.”

Democratization of Private Jets

The shared jet options were at one point a big talking point in terms of opening private jet access to a wider swath of consumers.

In the past, Vista Global’s XO and Wheels Up have promoted jet-sharing in their marketing.

Crowdsourcing was the core of the start-up tech platform JetSmarter.

In April 2019, Vista Global bought the online broker, which became the foundation for XO’s shared private jet flight programs.

At the time, its website (image below) presented XO Seat Sharing as a way to “sell seats on your charter flights or book a seat on an existing flight.”

The crowdsourcing aspect promised consumers to “fly on-demand for half the price of traditional private charter.”

Once a member starts a flight, others can view the flight on its app and buy seats.

The Vista Global acquisition followed the launch of Wheels Up’s entry-level Connect membership.

Connect was designed to bring in new members to share flights with existing members.

In its 2021 Investor Day presentation, Wheels Up touted 17.9 million households with $1-5 million net worth who could afford shared flights.

The idea was existing members would save money on their flights and fly even more.

More sharing opportunities would attract more low single-digit millionaires, democratizing private flying.

From its 2019 announcement of Connect:

Wheels Up has also released the Wheels Up Community, a new digital feature that gives all members exclusive access to communicate with one another in order to coordinate flight sharing by discussing details for currently proposed shared flights or creating new flights to share. This innovative feature allows Wheels Up Members to fly privately for less through the creation of a members-only community that will increase Shared Flight opportunities.

Last year, Wheels Up dropped its Connect membership but maintains the community.

The jet sharing was also marketed as a greener way to fly privately.

During XO’s expansion of its scheduled Part 380 offering in 2022, CMO Lynn Fischer noted:

In addition to economic value, shared flights offer significant sustainability advantages. While, on average, fewer than three passengers travel on board a private aircraft, shared flights accommodate 10 or more passengers, increasing the efficiency of seating capacity by 230%.

Last week’s TSA rules cover public charter flights operating under 14 CFR Part 380.

They target aircraft that have a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds.

Targeting JSX

According to a report by View From The Wing, a website tracking travel loyalty programs, the TSA rules were backed by Part 121 airlines and labor unions.

Sources told Private Jet Card Comparisons they are slated to go into effect in just under six months.

The primary target was flight providers such as JSX, which sells seats on scheduled flights that operate from private terminals, creating a private jet-like experience on the ground.

Whether the flights are considered scheduled will impact whether they come under the new rule.

Yesterday, JSX became the first public charter offering scheduled flights to issue an official response.

A spokesperson for JSX tells Private Jet Card Comparisons, “JSX fully supports and cooperates with TSA in implementing security measures applicable to public charter flights. JSX is proud of its outstanding security record and has modeled an industry-leading approach to aviation security for nearly eight years, having voluntarily invested millions of dollars into its comprehensive security program since its inception.”

Details of the new rules have not been published due to their security sensitivity.

In addition to XO and Wheels Up, charter broker Jettly and several sites, such as Katana and SharedCharter, also offer jet-sharing.

The concepts are of significant interest to private jet users.

35.8% of Private Jet Card Comparisons subscribers say they are interested in JSX-type flights and jet-sharing when requesting a custom analysis of which private options best suit their needs.

Yet only 7.7% say they used these services in the past year.