Uber announced this week that it is exploring a flying rideshare vehicle initiative, but a new Southern California company has beat it to the punch.
JB Adkins, founder of Skyryde Inc., was “kind of rolling my eyes” when he heard that Uber Technologies Inc. partnered with NASA to hash out a flying taxis project.
That’s because the 28-year-old entrepreneur has already piloted air taxi flights connecting passengers between Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego county airports, albeit in personal planes, not flying cars.
Skyryde is an on-demand sky taxi that transports up to three passengers on a Cessna Turbo 182 plane between airports in the region. Passengers now must book flights on the web, though Adkins said that a rideshare-esque mobile phone app would roll out this summer.
The customer base right now is wealthy people – but not so rich that they can afford a charter plane – who want to avoid L.A. traffic.
For example, passengers looking to escape 405 freeway congestion could fly between Burbank Hollywood Airport and Santa Monica Municipal Airport, and split the $230 cost.
Adkins is a Georgia native who got his pilot’s license his senior year of high school – a key step to teenage popularity, he noted.
“All the preppie kids would head to Panama Beach during spring break and I would fly them.”
He earned a scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, but dropped out and started exploring new ways to use his pilot skills. Adkins now lives in a used RV in Northridge, and put his own money toward Skyryde, which just opened an office in Laguna Beach.
There’s skepticism so far from investors, according to Adkins , who said they might be taken aback by a young, black pilot and entrepreneur.
“People’s unconscious biases do unfortunately affect your chances and opportunities to get funding,” he said.
Adkins said he is nontheless energized about Skyride – partly due to his longstanding relationships with commercial pilots – who often have extended down time between flight assignments for their airlines and might view Skyryde as a chance for extra cash.
One potential hurdle: Pilots that fly paying passengers can’t operate like Uber or Lyft Inc. drivers – they must be employees and not freelancers, per Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
“We have to keep tabs on almost everything they do,” he said, including continual drug tests.
But that is Skyryde’s beauty, Adkins said – to start sky rideshare in the face of myriad challenges.
“We’re not waiting for technology and regulation to catch up,” he said. “You can partake in this today.”
– Matthew Blake
