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This is a mystifying analogy. The average person has a vehicle that might possibly be shared via Uber. Almost nobody has an aircraft they can do that with. The

by markbnj 11y ago

This is a mystifying analogy. The average person has a vehicle that might possibly be shared via Uber. Almost nobody has an aircraft they can do that with. The organizations that do have aircraft tend to be, surprise, airlines, leasing companies, flying clubs. As for "robust international carriers" many or most of those are state-owned. Operating aircraft safely is a labor- and capital-intensive business. It's hardly an area where one wants to see a lot of little startups burning VC money.

dylanjermiah 11y ago
Yep. Travis (CEO) had already said, if a particular space relates to Uber's core competency than chances are they'll do it. I don't think they'll do air travel in this sense.
andrewljohnson 11y ago
"The average person has a vehicle that might possibly be shared via Uber." Wait, is that true? My experience with Uber drivers is they all bought a new car to be Uber drivers, sometimes with a loan Uber helps them get. Uber being some kind of "sharing" economy company seems a little dubious. They are really quite different than AirBnB, which really is based on a surplus of housing. Uber is mostly just a taxi company, and their fleet is all pristine, new cards, which they make drivers get and maintain. And the drivers are only "not employees" according to a very fine line. It's more like the "1099" economy than the "sharing" economy. Uber isn't leveraging a car surplus - they are capitalizing on a worker surplus. There are no beat up old jalopeys getting "shared" via Uber. There is no natural, organic market, among people with/without cars.
- mahyarm 11y ago
  I think it depends on your market. Where I am, there are a lot of people just using their personal car. I heard the minimum is a 2000 year car in good condition, which is about 15 years old now.
- pithon 11y ago
  Yes, the average person has a vehicle.
- markbnj 11y ago
  Yes, I thought about addressing this in the comment. Most Uber drivers are much more like 1099 contractors, but I think for this purpose a general notion of what a "sharing economy" entails is sufficient for the purposes of comparison with this idea. Either way it just doesn't hold up.

by markbnj 11y ago

dylanjermiah 11y ago

Yep. Travis (CEO) had already said, if a particular space relates to Uber's core competency than chances are they'll do it. I don't think they'll do air travel in this sense.

andrewljohnson 11y ago

"The average person has a vehicle that might possibly be shared via Uber." Wait, is that true? My experience with Uber drivers is they all bought a new car to be Uber drivers, sometimes with a loan Uber helps them get. Uber being some kind of "sharing" economy company seems a little dubious. They are really quite different than AirBnB, which really is based on a surplus of housing. Uber is mostly just a taxi company, and their fleet is all pristine, new cards, which they make drivers get and maintain. And the drivers are only "not employees" according to a very fine line. It's more like the "1099" economy than the "sharing" economy. Uber isn't leveraging a car surplus - they are capitalizing on a worker surplus. There are no beat up old jalopeys getting "shared" via Uber. There is no natural, organic market, among people with/without cars.

mahyarm 11y ago
I think it depends on your market. Where I am, there are a lot of people just using their personal car. I heard the minimum is a 2000 year car in good condition, which is about 15 years old now.
pithon 11y ago
Yes, the average person has a vehicle.
markbnj 11y ago
Yes, I thought about addressing this in the comment. Most Uber drivers are much more like 1099 contractors, but I think for this purpose a general notion of what a "sharing economy" entails is sufficient for the purposes of comparison with this idea. Either way it just doesn't hold up.