Charter your own private plane for €35

Until recently, chartering a flight exclusively for yourself in a small plane was usually only an option for the very rich.

However, aeroplane ride-sharing apps like Wingly, Coavmi and SkyUber that connect pilots with the public is transforming things completely, making light aviation more accessible to all.

Pilots post their route, the number of seats available and the set price so that passengers can book. The flights are usually surprisingly cheap, often cheaper than other forms of transport.

For example, at the time of writing, Wingly has these flights available: a 30-minute Zurich (Birrfeld) sightseeing flight (€50), Zurich to Erfurt (€194) and a Grenchen, Jura and Bern sightseeing flight (€107).

Coavmi flights currently include a one hour Marrakech sightseeing flight (€195), Uzein to Anglet (€35), and Berlin to Zweibrucken (€149).

Wingly currently offers more than 3000 flights to cities throughout Europe, as well as some in the Caribbean. Coavmi and SkyUber cover Europe, (with the former currently offering the flight in Morocco mentioned above, also). And if there's a route you'd like to take that is not shown, the app allows users to request flights. Pilots can then get in touch if they see a proposed route that works for them.

The aeroplanes available vary, however most are two- to six-seater propeller planes, rather than jets. Pilots are allowed to carry up to six cost-sharing passengers providing no profit is made. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority and the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration insist that pilots must make a contribution to the cost of the flight because no profit is allowed as that would make it a commercial flight. It is illegal to conduct commercial flights without possession of the appropriate certificate.

With these sites, typically all pilots must have their licences verified before being allowed to join, and, similar to Airbnb or Uber, pilots and passengers are reviewed.

There are a good few advantages to flying this way. Apart from the low cost, it can be tremendous fun flying in a light aircraft, where you are far more in touch with your surroundings than in a big commercial jet. There are none of the long, sometimes torturous delays navigating a big airport and its security checkpoints.

However, flight sharing sites have hit legal problems. Indeed, the Federal Aviation Administration has shut down two US flight-sharing platforms, Airpooler and FlyteNow.

Apart from the legal questionability, there are downfalls to flying this way. For example, flights are much more likely to be rescheduled than for a conventional commercial flight because of bad weather. For that reason these flights are more suitable for leisure travel rather than business use, where not missing an important meeting may be vital. And rather than, for example, a train or coach that may take passengers to the heart of a city, these flights may terminate in an airfield in a remote location.

There are safety concerns: both for pilots uneasy about flying with a stranger, and for passengers wary of flying with a pilot who many be relatively inexperienced or flying just the minimum amount required each year. The websites point out that safety rules are not as strict as for commercial flights and therefore there is more risk.

But despite the concerns, flying this way is likely to become increasingly common in the coming years.