Do you spend hours a day stuck in traffic? Are you fed up? Your life-changing solution is here! Introducing FLOAT.
Starting in January, SoCal residents with long commutes have the option to fly to work thanks to this new start-up service, FLOAT. It stands for Fly Over All Traffic. Co-founded by a UC San Diego graduate, FLOAT is described as a commuter air service that has agreements to operate a fleet of nine-passenger planes at 40 small airports throughout Southern California, including Hollywood Burbank Airport, Santa Monica Airport and John Wayne Airport.
According to KTLA news, the routes will be determined by customer demand. Co-founder and CEO Arnel Guiang told the news outlet that “FLOAT is shattering the myth that sitting in hours of traffic every day is a necessary and unavoidable way of life in Southern California." Honestly, this is totally necessary!
Breaking down the prices: KTL adds that a base membership will cost $1,250 per month for flights five days a week -- essentially each leg of the commute will cost about $30.
How did this idea come about?: KTLA reports that the UCSD cofounder came up with the idea for FLOATwhile working at Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles County. The computer engineer's commute took 2-3 hours a day. One day, Guiang said a coworker offered to fly him to work in a private plane, shaving his commute to about 20 minutes. BOOM...the idea for FLOAT was born.
In KTLA's report, Guiang says that "...the high cost of living, more Southern Californians are finding nice homes at attractive prices in the suburbs outside of thriving business locations, which leads people to lengthier commutes. Carpool and vanpool options are only shaving a few minutes off these commutes, and these lengthy commutes are cutting into people’s quality of life.”
The service is targeting so-called “super commuters,” those with commutes of 90 minutes or more each way. There are nearly 26,000 super commuters in San Diego alone.
If you consider yourself a "super commuter" and want are interested in FLOAT, but are worried about airport security measure, don't worry. KTLA adds that customers will be able to walk onto a plane in minutes using an app, without security checks by the TSA.
FLOAT will start with three planes at first, and the company says the idea is taking off: more than 700 people have signed up so far.
Customers can request a route here.
Watch a CBS provided video below to see how FLOAT works:
Is this not the greatest creation EVER?
Photos: Facebook - FLOAT Air Shuttle