Surf Air, which has been operating a fleet of Pilatus PC-12s between 13 California airports for three years, now plans to expand into Europe. Surf Air Europe will operate three airplanes from London, Zurich, Geneva, Dublin and Cannes. Surf Air members pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to the company’s fleet, and can book flights using a mobile app. In Europe, the company says, customers will fly on all-new Cessna and Embraer twin-engine business jets from private terminals. Membership plans for the new Europe fleet start at about $3,600 per month. Meanwhile, the company has been dealing with noise complaints about its operations in California.
Neighbors close to the San Carlos Airport near San Francisco have complained about noise from the PC-12s flying low above their homes. The FAA approved a new approach route last month that would keep the PC-12s mainly over the bay, but neighbors say fog and low clouds often keep the airplanes on the old route. One neighbor filed a suit and was awarded $1,000, but the county is expected to appeal. County Supervisor Don Horsley told The Almanac, “We’re not going to let that stand. If residents could win lawsuits claiming local governments have a responsibility to stop nuisance noise from airports, you’d have people constantly suing you. They’d end up shutting [all airports] down.” According to an analysis by San Carlos airport officials, the PC-12s should be able to fly the new bay approach about 85 percent of the time. Surf Air flies into San Carlos about 18 times a day.
