Aussies to fly unlimited with new airline Airly

Airly is set to become Australia’s first members-only airline and aims to save Aussie flyers both time and money, providing unlimited travel around the country, news.com.au reported.

Operating on a business model of efficiency and innovation, and based on successful Californian start-up Surf Air, Airly is an ambitious plan by co-founders Alexander Robinson, Luke Hampshire and Ivan Vysotskiy.

At first, there will be 54 8-seater flights available per week. The company plans to bypass major airports, initially flying between Essendon in Melbourne, Bankstown in Sydney and Canberra, in order to save Aussie air travellers time in ground activities, like “parking a car, crossing a vast terminal, queuing, checking in, security, waiting in the lounge, walking to the gate, waiting for boarding, boarding, being seated, and then doing that all at the other end,” Robinson said.

He claimed that Airly’s methods would ultimately save passengers two hours for a Essendon-Bankstown return flight, even accounting for the extra 20 minutes of flight time saved on a commercial airline.

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Eventually, there are plans in place to expand travel to Archerfield in Brisbane, Moorabbin in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, and the Gold Coast. Airly is even considering becoming an international venture in the future, with New Zealand and Asia as potential markets.

Frequent private jet travellers will also save money with Airly, with unlimited flights beginning at $2,550 a month. There is also a $1,000 joining fee, and the first two months membership needs to be paid upfront.

Airly is projected to begin flights in March this year, and there has already been interest in membership, Robinson said. “We’ve had a lot of people say it’s a good idea and they can understand the problem, and Airly’s proposed solution. There have been a lot of prospective members ask us to commence flying as soon as possible, as they can relate first-hand to the commuter-style and lost time involved in commercial air travel.”

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