Open Airplane. Anyone ever heard of it?

What is it?

 

One of their challenges is the 10% fee they charge to the operators/owners of the airplanes on the hourly rental rate.

The operators' profit margins are typically razor thin, so the 10% openairplane fee would need to be created by renting the airplane at a highly hourly rate, probably 10% higher.

From your point of view, what is the appealing part of it to you as a renter?

I would think most pilots rent from airports nearby their home, so the checkout at the local airport is a one-time thing and no more onerous than the one required by openairplane.

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Appears to be a national website where airplane renters can do a single one-time pilot checkout with a local flight instructor and then rent planes from a large number of owner/operators around the country.

The idea is to be the one-stop-shopping portal website for airplane rental scheduling and payment processing.

No cost to the airplane renter.
Large inventory of airplanes to choose from.
No cost to the owner/operator to list their airplane in the inventory.
A 10% per hour fee paid to the website by the owner/operator when their plane gets rented through the service.
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I would never let anyone rent any plane I own. Where are they going to get their inventory?

Also, there's so much variation in GA planes. When I used to rent, I'd have to get checked out on every plane I desired to rent.

 

one time check-out is appealing marketing, but in reality is not good for anyone... same model planes have different options / packages, production variances, and subtle variances of the way they feel / fly. Turning a pilot loose in a strange plane can be a disaster waiting to happen... then there is the issue of time since last few flights... the list goes one... used to check out renters, all were licensed... had to turn down quite a few because of the bad habits / procedures they acquired...essentially unsafe in the way they flew... over the years
they had incidents causing damage to the plane and themselves... a simple take off and landing can reveal a lot...one doesn't need to be put through the ringer to show if they are capable or not...

 

Yes, and the insurance company is on the hook for the liability. I don't know an insurance carrier that would sign off on this.

 

San Diego has numerous flying clubs where the airplanes are all privately owned and 'provided' to the club. Owner is responsible for all maintenance and sets the rental rate and pilot requirements. Club takes a small % to schedule, collect fees, and then pays the owner. I had a housemate who had two 172's in one club and had them both paid off with full engine OH reserves in just a couple yrs. Its a business and if you run it like one there was profit to be made.

 

But I guarantee each plane needs it's own checkout. That's the point. A checkout in San Diego won't get you renting a plane in Florida without a checkout.