Could This Really Be the Solution to the Woes of Airline Travel in the U.S.?

On this busy Memorial Day Weekend, we thought we’d post something on what almost everyone hates—airline travel. Nearly half of Americans leave for the airport three or more hours prior to a domestic flight, according to a new survey by KinectAir, a digital platform that claims to be opening the skies and delivering the convenience of on-demand private air travel at lower costs (so beware they have a bit of an agenda going on here). The vast majority of Americans (88 percent) leave for the airport two or more hours prior to a domestic flight, and nearly half (47 percent) leave at least three or more hours early.

When trips away are almost never long enough, the time spent on today's air travel process adds up. Three-quarters of Americans (75 percent) say that traveling to the airport, going through security, waiting for the flight, collecting bags after the flight, and getting to a final destination take longer than the flight itself. Today's commercial flight experience also can be tough (we certainly know that!).. Those surveyed said that the worst parts are delays (48 percent), how expensive it is (48 percent), lack of space on the plane (44 percent). Americans also cited airport security (32 percent), layovers (32 percent) and the boarding process (30 percent) as being among the worst parts of the experience.

"When massive numbers of people use a small number of commercial airport hubs across the U.S., time-consuming and inconvenient processes are inescapable," said Jonathan Evans, co-founder and CEO of Kinect Air. "Too often, Americans are stressed-or even stranded. To better serve the public and businesses, a new, point-to-point air travel ecosystem must transform today's customer experience, eliminate the problems passengers face and cut the inefficiencies of the hub-and-spoke airport model. In the digital era, we have the technology to install an on-demand network of efficient smaller aircraft using local airports. It is not only possible, but it will change air travel as we know it."

Private charter air travel has been seen as far too expensive and inaccessible for an everyday consumer. KinectAir is working to provide an alternative for those who want their travel experiences to be more digitally streamlined and enjoyable, with transparent prices that are comparable to airlines' business class fares on a per seat basis.

The survey showed that consumers are willing to spend on air travel, but need a viable private flight option that greatly reduces the time it takes to travel. More than two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) spend $3,000 or more on personal travel each year. Just under half (47 percent) spend $5,000 or more.

With AI-driven software that ensures high-margin utilization rates, dynamic routing and mobile-first booking, KinectAir connects passengers with highly efficient turboprop fleets, professional pilots and nearby local airports for personal and business travel at a time when congested hub-and-spoke air travel is more expensive and stressful than ever. KinectAir is initially serving the Pacific Northwest, with plans to expand its decentralized model across the U.S.

To draw attention to the benefits of point-to-point air travel, KinectAir recently set up a challenge between different modes of transportation—a dirt bike, an Airstream, a commercial airline and finally a KinectAir charter—timed from Portland, Ore. to Bend, Ore. The result was The KinectAir "Amazing Race,” a short film making the value of on-demand private flights abundantly clear (see video above).

Leveraging the underutilized local airport infrastructure across the nation makes it possible to dramatically trim the fat from today's commercial airline travel processes. Right now, according to NASA, only 30 airports out of 5,000 public-use airports serve over 70 percent of all travelers. McKinsey notes that 90 percent of the population lives within a 30-minute drive of a regional airport. For many Americans, it's an even shorter drive to other local public-use airports meaning the hours-long airport commute becomes a thing of the past.

KinectAir’s survey reveals that 88 percent of Americans immediately thought of the nearest large commercial airport when asked what airport is closest to their home. When further prompted, 55 percent agreed that they actually did had a smaller airport or airfield closer to their home than the one they initially thought of, and 75 percent said they know where that local airport is-though one in four do not. Almost two-thirds (61 percent) would consider flying out of a local private airfield if it is closer than their nearest commercial airport.

Interestingly, the survey also showed that the vast majority of Americans (78 percent) think there are more Target, Home Depot or Costco stores in the U.S. than airports. In fact, there are more public-use airports (5,000) than all of those stores combined (4,539 in 2023), and there are more than 14,000 private-use airports. More than three-quarters of those surveyed (78 percent) believe Walmart is closer to their home than the nearest airport. But the reality is likely different.

KinectAir’s nationwide survey of 1,001 Americans was distributed across all age groups from 18 to 65+ and was conducted by Propeller Insights between April 6 and April 17, 2023. Propeller Insights is a full-service market research firm based in Los Angeles. KinectAir Inc. says it is on a mission to make private flight accessible to everyone. The KinectAir App for on-demand private air travel is now “live” in the Pacific Northwest booking affordable private flights daily across Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada and into Utah. KinectAir's App, AI-backed route dispatch, and demand generation capabilities optimizes the air transport supply into a mesh network of certified operators instantly offering passengers a fully transparent, accessible booking system that reflects their travel choices. For more information, visit https://kinectair.com/.

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