Skip to main content

Blackbird Air App Promises Affordable Private Air Travel for Everyone

By Mike Richard Aug 11, 2017 10:00 AM

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

In the last few years, it seems the major airlines and TSA are collectively hell-bent on making commercial air travel as awful as humanly possible. Unfortunately, for most mortal men, private flying is well out of reach. But, one San Francisco-based startup is angling to change that.

Blackbird Air is a new on-demand smartphone app designed to make affordable private and semi-private air travel accessible to everyone. Once you’ve created a free account, the three-step booking process is remarkably simple. Users pick a destination, select a date and time, then choose any optional add-ons (like flying with a pet or how much luggage you’ll be bringing), and receive their tickets instantly.

Blackbird Airline App — Blackbird Air App/Facebook Image used with permission by copyright holder

The app’s three-tiered ticketing options add a great deal of versatility to the process. Scheduled flights are the company’s cheapest option, allowing users to (wait for it …) book air travel for specific routes on pre-scheduled dates and times. Blackbird Pool is an on-demand option that allows flyers to “crowdsource” their own flights. Essentially, they pick a date and time during which no flight currently exists. If the app finds enough additional Blackbird users, the flight is automatically scheduled. The beauty of this option is that you only pay if sufficient flyers are found to make the trip viable. The company’s flagship option, Blackbird Select is also its most expensive. It allows travelers to charter an entire small plane for private service to just about anywhere. Available aircraft include everything from a tiny, 4-passenger Cirrus SR-22 prop plane to a DMC-2 Beaver seaplane (seats 5) to a beautiful, 30-seat Embraer ERJ-135 jet.

Recommended Videos

Overall, Blackbird’s pricing is often more expensive than flying a comparable route on a commercial flight. But, the additional cost is lower than you might expect. When you factor in how much your time costs — between arriving at the airport hours ahead of time, clearing TSA, collecting your bags (hopefully) on the other end, and finding transportation out of the major city where your destination airport is likely to be located — the convenience seems well worth the money.

The app is now available for download for both iPhone and Android. Regional service is available between select U.S. cities with one-way rates starting around $124 USD (Sausalito to Tahoe City). Having just raised $2.5 million in funding in mid-2017, it’s clear that enough backers believe in the company that it should expand very, very quickly, however.

Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He’s kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South… Read Full Bio

Cafe Charmant, The Corner Store Crew’s Latest, Puts Food Ahead of the Scene

Clothing, Long Sleeve, Sleeve

I’ll be honest. If I weren’t a writer, there is no way in hell I could have landed a 7:15 Saturday night reservation at Cafe Charmant just a mere four weeks after its opening. The most recent jewel in the buzzy Catch Hospitality Group’s crown, the glitzy eatery is the newest IT restaurant to hit the downtown scene, so chalk it up to one of the perks of the job that I could walk in, order a drink, and be ushered to a corner table for two in under 10 minutes.

Though the state of making prime reservations in New York City may not come as a surprise to many, I’m still not able to reconcile with the current velvet rope of so many of this city’s restaurants. Sure, the 90s and early 2000’s had their Indochine, Moomba (if you remember that one, we need to grab a drink). The Waverly Inn, but for the most part, you could easily make a reservation or even walk in and wait for a table with a cocktail in hand at most popular establishments. And, let’s be honest, half the people weren’t even eating, if you know what I mean.

A tasting guide to Livermore Valley, California’s friendliest wine country

Adult, Male, Man

Livermore Valley sits in Northern California’s East Bay, where the hustle and bustle of neighboring Oakland and San Francisco give way to grassy rolling hills, big open skies, and over 40 tasting rooms. The region is home to some of the best wines I’ve tasted in the state, without the pretense and rigidity I’ve come to expect from other tasting rooms in the region.

And thanks to the valley’s marine-influenced winds, varied climate, and diverse soils, I tasted an unusually broad range of wines. Crisp whites, structured reds, and everything in between seem to be able to find their footing here.

High Society, Low Alcohol: A Trip to the Hamptons with Heineken 0.0

Ball, Sport, Tennis

After a multi-year bender of back-to-back press trips, I decided to swear off travel this past summer. The old dog was tired, and I desperately wanted to reconnect with old friends, visit family, and continue wooing a lovely lady in New York. Oh, and I needed to find time to actually write the stories I had promised publicists in exchange for gallivanting around the globe on their dime. I am, after all, a professional.

As summer raced by, my inbox swelled with tantalizing invitations. I turned them down one after the next with Spartan fortitude. A junket to the Loire Valley to review wineries? Thank you for considering me, but for the next few weeks, I’m committed to rekindling my relationship with my bed. A sailboat cruise on the Amalfi Coast? I hear it’s beautiful this time of year, but sadly, I’m in the weeds bingeing Landman.