We are extremely grateful that the LA Times covered our launch and took the time to talk to Tom (of New Vectors Aviation – our operator) and me.
However, since this is a new type of service, a number of misconceptions crept into the article that we have an obligation to correct immediately to avoid misrepresenting anything to the general public.
We owe anyone using our service and flying with our operators to know exactly what is going on and what each entity is responsible for.
We will ask the LA Times to correct this information.
A) The article starts with
The company will fly passengers between more than 28 municipal and commercial airports from Santa Barbara south to San Diego and as far east as Las Vegas.
We do not fly. New Vectors – our operator – is the company that does the flying. It is very important that anyone who uses the service, understand that they fly with an FAA-certified carrier. FlyMiwok simply helps operators with bookings and provides them with a portal. We have nothing whatsoever to do with flight operations.
B) The caption for my picture says
Gad Barnea, founder of FlyMiwok, looks over a plane that will be used by the private air service at Santa Monica Airport.
This is not really an error – if you read it right. But it could be read incorrectly. So, just to put things straight: There’s no private air-service based at Santa Monica airport. Our operator(s) will pick customers up from Santa Monica, but none of the operators were working with or currently talking to is based there.
C) The article continues:
FlyMiwok is not an airline. It’s more like an air-taxi company that can fly passengers […]
True – we’re not an airline. But we’re not an air-taxi company either. We do not fly. New Vectors and the operators we represent are.
D) On pricing:
On FlyMiwok, the prices vary by distance, but on average a flight from Santa Monica Airport to Palm Springs International Airport will cost about $1,950. You can cut the cost by splitting the ride with other passengers.
That’s for a round-trip assuming a weekend-long stay. Same-day returns will cost less and by splitting the costs the round-trip can cost you $650.
Again, this is no fault of the LA Times. We understand that this is a new service and many people will have to translate it to something more familiar. We just need to keep the record straight.
Gad Barnea – CEO – FlyMiwok, Inc.
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