Surf Air Raises Prices

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Surf Air Raises Prices
Full Throttle: Surf Air CEO Jeff Potter at Burbank Bob Hope Airport with one of the airline’s three $4 million Pilatus PC-12 aircraft

Subscription airline Surf Air will raise its all-you-can-fly price Jan. 1. to $1,950 a month, rising from $1,750 a month.

This $200 increase is part of a progressive rise in prices since Surf Air’s first flight in 2013 and reflects the company’s growing number of destinations, said Chief Executive Jeff Potter. When the airline first flew in June 2013, a monthly subscription cost $1,650.

Surf Air offers passengers unlimited flights for a flat monthly subscription price. The airline flies a single-engine turbo prop Pilatus PC-12, which seats eight passengers, out of small airports, such as Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Los Angeles and San Carlos County Airport in the Bay Area.

The company operates 13 airplanes and makes 80 to 90 flights a day, said Potter. The startup has about 180 employees and has raised around $84 million in venture capital.

The airline’s membership numbers have swelled to about 2400 subscription members up from about 1000 members at the beginning of the year, said Potter. Many of those memberships are paid by businesses, often tech executives or venture capitalists flying between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

“A lot of memberships are paid by companies because it’s just an economic way to travel and secondly we provide time savings,” said Potter.

Surf Air is looking at expanding its subscription model to other states as well, perhaps next year.

“California has been the perfect starting point for this model, but we certainly think it can be replicated in different parts of the country, including Texas and Florida,” said Potter.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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