<\/a>I first discovered\u00a0Surf Air by an accidental Google search last summer. I was surprised when I started researching this small regional airline, as I had never heard about them before\u00a0in the numerous blogs and aviation rags I enjoy reading.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some of my previous posts included:<\/p>\n

Surf Who?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Touring Surf Air in Sacramento<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A Summer of Promotions<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This is a new little airline that is frequently referred to the “Netflix” of passenger aviation. Their business model is an all you can fly for a flat fee of $1,950.00 per month. Not everything is smooth with the new startup, especially with their\u00a0Northern California hub in San Carlos. As the number of flights has increased, so\u00a0has the noise coming from the airline’s fleet of\u00a0single-engine turboprop\u00a0Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.\u00a0The local\u00a0residents have been filling\u00a0noise complaints with\u00a0San Mateo County, which has jurisdiction over the San Carlos Airport. This NBC report sums it up:<\/p>\n

NBC Article about Surf Air and\u00a0San Carlos noise<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Surf Air and the county devised a plan to redirect flight paths and\u00a0traffic in other area’s away from effected neighborhoods. They are\u00a0mostly trying to redirect flights over the bay and away from the local population.<\/p>\n

AINonline article about efforts to reduce Surf Air noise<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Their efforts have been less than effective. Finally, on August 18th, 2016\u00a0San Mateo County held a public meeting on the matter in Atherton, California – one of the local communities effected by the increased Surf Air flights. It was 185 people and standing room only. After reading this article by The Almanac the meeting sounds like a witch hunt, and an absolute disaster for Surf Air. It probably didn’t help that Jeff Potter, the CEO of Surf Air, ducked out of the meeting early.<\/p>\n

The Almanac online article about the public meeting about noise levels caused by Surf Air, August 18th<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Packed public meeting\u00a0–\u00a0courtesy of The Almanac<\/p>\n

A second meeting was held on September 14th, as a continuation of the first. The Almanac again covered the meeting and posted this online article.<\/p>\n

The Almanac online article about the\u00a0public meeting about noise levels caused by Surf Air, September 16th<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Again, like the first meeting this second one\u00a0sounded ugly. I have attended these type of\u00a0public meetings, in other area’s and about different subjects, and they’re\u00a0typically never good. Usually they include a lot of emotion – reason and common sense are checked at the door. It doesn’t seem that there is an immediate solution to alleviate the noise from Surf Air.\u00a0San Mateo County is conducting a noise study, and has not publicized the results yet.<\/p>\n

Jim Sullivan, Surf Air\u2019s senior vice president of operations, also mentioned that Sur Air had reduce the number flights operating out of San Carlos from 24 to 18 per day. He stated this reduction was done for “business reasons”. This may be entirely\u00a0true as it can be a good business\u00a0practice not upset your neighbors, and eventually be\u00a0banned from the airport. In any case, the timing is fortuitous for those looking for relieve from the noise.<\/p>\n

In reading about this issue I really can see the argument from both sides. Surf Air is a private company following the rules and trying to change and improve the passenger aviation business, while also trying to make a profit.\u00a0On the other the San Carlos Airport probably never had this kind of\u00a0air traffic or noise in the past, and now that has changed and it’s bound to upset the local residence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I first discovered\u00a0Surf Air by an accidental Google search last summer. I was surprised when I started researching this small regional airline, as I had never heard about them before\u00a0in the numerous blogs and aviation rags I enjoy reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-san-carlos","category-surf-air"],"yoast_head":"\n