It seems that every kind of "sharing" service is a quick success these days. Last week, we wrote about Lyft, which raised $60 million for its person-to-person taxi service, and now we’ve heard the same investors have a stake in FlightCar.
It sure is annoying to pay high prices to park your car while it sits idle at an airport. If you trust a stranger to drive your car while you’re gone FlightCar can change this expense into a small revenue stream and you’ll get a free car wash to boot.
It’s another business model associated with the "sharing" economy, where people want a service but don’t want the hassle of owning things like cars.
Since its February launch at San Francisco’s airport, FlightCar has listed 650 cars for rent and booked 1000 reservations. It’s launching the service at Boston’s International Airport this month. If you own the car, you get a commission when it’s rented and parking is free if no one rents – and there’s that free car wash.
Yes, there have been a few minor accidents and scratches, but insurance covered that.
The three teenagers behind Flightcar joined a business incubator and with its help, raised $5.5 million in just a few weeks! Airbnb co-founder was one of the investors – a company that rents rooms in people’s homes – along with Ryan Seacrest, the host of "American Idol" and others.
Most people don’t want strangers to drive their car, but the 20% that do is enough to make a business. Flightcar, of course, checks the driving records of renters and takes responsibility for insuring cars and fixing any damages.
Those that want to rent will get it cheaper than from Hertz or Avis, but they could get a much older car.
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