FlightCar, operates in 12 major U.S. cities: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Austin, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Portland, San Diego and Dallas. It plans on adding at least two more locations this summer.
Beginning today, your unused car can become a moneymaker when you leave it behind at Portland International Airport.
The California-based firm FlightCar has expanded it’s car-sharing service to Portland, providing an opportunity for car owners to allow their vehicles to be rented out during their travels by air. The service, now available at 12 U.S. airports, offers free parking and rental income to owners of cars offered for rental. Those looking to rent a car while in Portland or other cities served by FlightCar can find a rental through the company at a much lower price than a conventional rental the company says.
FlightCar says its service is a win for travelers on both sides of the buy-rent equation, but one that it admits raises countless logistical and practical questions. The founders of three-year-old FlightCar think they have answers for all those questions, and they’ve secured $20 million in funding from prominent investors who seem to agree.
FlightCar, operates in 12 major U.S. cities: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Austin, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Portland, San Diego and Dallas. It plans on adding at least two more locations this summer.
Kevin Petrovic, a co-founder and president of the San Francisco-based company, expects warm acceptance in Portland, the first U.S. city to embrace car sharing and an early adopter of new technolgies. He also thinks it could disrupt the car rental market nationally.
“I think it has a lot of potential to take a large share of the car rental market,” Petrovic said in a phone interview with The Columbian. “There are a lot of people who are interested in FlightCar or a similar concept.”
Here’s how it works: FlightCar’s website tells what vehicles are acceptable and estimates how much you could make through the rental of your vehicle. (Cars more than 13 years old or with more than 150,000 miles are not accepted.) The company has leased up to 20 parking spaces at the Holiday Inn at 8439 N.E. Columbia Blvd., near the airport. FlightCar service includes free airport pick up and drop-off for both owners and renters. Car owners get the benefit of free airport parking and a car wash — even if FlightCar does not rent out their vehicle.
Car owners make money when their cars are rented, based on the mileage driven.
For renters, FlightCar’s rates vary depending on the vehicle’s age and size, but the company says its rental fees are consistently 40 to 50 percent lower than those of traditional rental car companies. FlightCar regularly adjusts prices in response to changes in supply and demand.
As with any new service, people have plenty of questions. To avoid a person renting a car for a long trip, FlightCar sets prices that discourage long-distance driving. If a car is returned late, or if an owner returns early from a trip, FlightCar provides a free loaner car. FlightCar pays for any problems using its own insurance of $1 million for car owners and renters, without involving the vehicle owner’s insurance.
“People tend to evaluate worst-case scenarios,” Petrovic said. “We have pretty good answers.”
FlightCar is finding some success with a longer-term rental option. A person with an little-used car, perhaps belonging to a college student, a military service member, or an elderly parent, can offer the car to FlightCar for a 30-day minimum. “It’s been more successful than I thought it would be,” Petrovic said of the long-term rental program.
FlightCar had anticipated strong acceptance from younger travelers who are early adopters of technolgy-based businesses and the so-called sharing economy. And while 18- to 35-year-olds are key users of the company’s services, Petrovic said he’s been surprised by the strong acceptance by people older than 60.
So far, FlightCar is much further along in development than its nearest competitor, and it hopes to remain in front with rapid expansion. It has raised about $20 million in seed capital and Series A funding. Investors include GGV Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, and Seacrest Global Group.
This spring, FlightCar added both San Diego and Portland to its roster. It expects to add at least two more airports this summer, and it’s also looking at overseas markets, Petrovic said. The company isn’t yet profitable, and so far has no plans to go public, he said.
“With our model, we think it’s better to run in a growth and expansion mindset ,” he said. “We think definitely down the line the business can be profitable. It has the potential to have better (profit) margins than rental companies.”
