Thanks to the ubiquity of the smartphone and the cleverness of app designers, just about anybody can make a buck in the sharing economy with ordinary goods and services -- a spare room, a ride to the airport, a few hours of baby-sitting, pet sitting, dog walking. Whatever.
Well, not exactly whatever.
We would draw the line at certain activities that require a rare and particular skill, like surgery or flying an airplane.
Thus, we think the FAA did the right thing earlier this month when it drew just such a line, putting a damper on the aspirations of AirPooler, a company that has an app for ride-sharing on private airplanes.
Under current law, private or general aviation pilots can't fly for "compensation or hire" and can't advertise or "hold out" the offer of providing air transportation. That's why the FAA calls them private pilots rather than commercial pilots, who must meet stiffer licensing requirements.
Under certain circumstances the FAA will let private pilots defray expenses by allowing friends, family members or other passengers to pay their share the costs, but only on a strictly pro rata basis.
AirPooler thought it had a way around all that, but in an Aug. 13 letter to the company, the FAA said, in a word, "no," which we interpret to mean, "not so fast."
If demand persists for this service among pilots and consumers, we don't think this will be the last word on the subject by any means. If nothing else, the sharing economy has demonstrated that its momentum isn't diverted that easily.
The peer-to-peer model that enabled Airbnb and Uber to become household words is spreading inexorably and will inevitably capture some part of the aviation market.
The question is, how?
Across the country, local authorities are struggling to figure out how amateur drivers and lodging hosts fit into their legacy licensing and consumer protection regimes.
Some cities, such as Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, are finding ways to accommodate the newcomers without turning all their legacy institutions upside down. Something similar has to happen at the federal level for aviation.
The federal regime for regulating the safety of air transport has served us well, and it is not something to be trifled with. It's no place for trial and error.
The inventors of AirPooler and others seeking to offer similar services may have a great idea, but we're not sure it can be simply grafted overnight onto the FAA's existing regime for licensing pilots.
General aviation proponents say private flying is reasonably safe, but in fact it's nowhere near as safe as airline travel. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the general aviation accident rate is six times higher than for commuter carriers and 40 times higher than for airline operations.
Small private planes are involved in 1,500 accidents a year that claim hundreds of lives. If this arena is to become a consumer marketplace, there are questions about levels of experience, minimum standards for the aircraft and aircraft maintenance, insurance and liability -- and consumer education -- that will have to be addressed.
You can walk out of a bad condo or end a bad cab ride by getting out at the next traffic light.
Not so with private aircraft.