This flight-sharing service is like Uber Pool for private planes

No shoes were removed, no toiletries put into separate clear bags, and there was no need to arrive two hours before the flight. 

As part of flight-sharing app Blackbird's media flight, we walked right onto the tarmac to the door of our plane at the small but busy San Carlos Airport. San Francisco International is just 10 miles away, but this tiny airport would end up being much more efficient for a quick jaunt down the California coast.

We then climbed aboard a Pilatus PC-12, a pretty luxurious single-engine turboprop plane. For startup Blackbird's newest service, dubbed Hitch, passengers fly on smaller private airplanes, splitting the cost of travel (that's oil and fuel costs and any airport and rental fees) with the pilot and any passengers. We were flying fewer than 100 miles south and back for a day trip to show how smooth and simple this could all be, if only people could accept flying as a normal — instead of extravagant — travel option.  Read more...