If in the UK we were allowed to land out of hours, and have PCL, I’d probably double the amount of long distance trips I do.
Schengen entry/exit is another issue (mostly if you live in the UK), which sadly is likely to not improve until I reach at least my 50s (I’m in mid 30s now), when I’ll be less likely to reap the benefits. (In a best scenario I wouldn’t be living here, not because I don’t like living here, but because there are better places to live when you are in semi-retirement)
I think the kind of flyjacksonhole is working more in the good direction than a 400h/y GA private pilot. With the cost of aviation in general, you have to have a economic rational behind the flight, or only wealthy people interested in pilot things AND can really afford flying. Maybe that, being based in Cannes, I see too many jets and ATO and almost nothing in between (although I regularly fly and DR400 and Arrow4 in wingly flights), and it is, at the end, not a correct vision of european GA, but I don’t think GA can really been handled and maintained by private pilots and their planes.
Airlines and jet businesses are stronger and driving more money, but if we can get more people in a like flyjacksonhole does, it could help to sustain a place for small planes. And I do think flight sharing like wingly as good thing. The problem with flight sharing is that it’s aiming at lowering the cost, but it definitely increases flight hours of our club, so it’s good. But it doesn’t answer the need of an economical purpose, nobody earns money with flight sharing (except wingly for the moment :P ).
