There are a lot of legal land mines with operations like this.
The FAA separates flight operations along a couple of subtle lines that make the difference between a commercial and private operation. As soon as a private pilot says to the general public "I am flying from here to there on this day and it will cost this much to come." you are now "holding out" as the FAA puts it. This requires you to be a commercial pilot flying under part 135 of the FARs as opposed to the more relaxed part 91 (general aviation).
> This requires you to be a commercial pilot flying under part 135 of the FARs as opposed to the more relaxed part 91 (general aviation).
This is something I plan to do if/when I burn out on programming. Though I guess there is always the saying: "how do you become a millionaire?" "become a billionaire and start an airline."
Is that true even if the passengers don't pay more than their fair share of the operating costs?
One instance I can think of are the EAA "young eagle" flights where kids can come to the airport and get a flight with a pilot. Those are definitely advertised, but since they aren't done for profit, my impression was that they are clearly part 91. (I don't know if those flights are completely free, though.)
EDIT: nm, saw the post above about "common purpose" rule.
The FAA separates flight operations along a couple of subtle lines that make the difference between a commercial and private operation. As soon as a private pilot says to the general public "I am flying from here to there on this day and it will cost this much to come." you are now "holding out" as the FAA puts it. This requires you to be a commercial pilot flying under part 135 of the FARs as opposed to the more relaxed part 91 (general aviation).