
FAQ
We are here to answer your questions
About Wingly and flight sharing
Wingly is the first flight sharing platform in Europe. Through our platform, we connect passengers with private pilots that have empty seats and want to share the costs of a flight. Pilots share their passion for aviation and get to share the cost of flying and passengers get to experience a flight in a light aircraft and see incredible landscapes from above at low prices.
By offering private flights at lower cost and getting more people to fly, Wingly shows that private aviation is not just a luxury reserved for the elite. Mankind's oldest dream is democratised and becomes accessible to all thanks to Wingly.
Yes! Flight sharing is regulated and legal in Europe.
The European AIR OPS regulation N ° 965/2012 on flight sharing allows pilots to share flights with passengers, however, they are not allowed to make a profit.
To find out more about flight sharing in the UK and Europe: visit our dedicated page on the subject.
Wingly pilots do not make any profit on their flights. They are real enthusiasts who fly during their free time and want to share their passion. They only share the direct costs of the flight with you so as a passenger, you only pay your share of the flight.
The total cost of the flight strictly includes fuel, landing fees and aircraft rental. When requesting a flight you will be given a price estimate based on the route and the type of aircraft, for example, a day trip from London to The Isle of Wight in a Cessna C172 will cost around £150 for the trip.
Most pilots listing flights on Wingly fly small single-engine piston aeroplanes that carry from two to six passengers (including the pilot). The specific make and model of the aircraft is listed on the detailed description page of each flight. So, who wants to take a seat in the cockpit?
For more photos, check out General Aviation on Google.
We are always looking for new talented and passionate people to join our team. You can find all our open positions on the Career page. If no position matches your profile, you can also send us a speculative application to [email protected].
Wingly Pro flights are flights offered by partner commercial aviation organisations. These flights differ from cost-shared flights by private individuals as the flights are made for profit and fall under commercial regulations.
Flight booking
You can go wherever pilots are willing to fly for a sightseeing flight, a round trip or a one-way adventure. The good news is that pilots are already used to travelling to your favourite destinations.
Wingly lets you search for flights by point of origin, by entering the location you would like to fly from and destination airport or city. Can’t find the flight you desire? No problem! From your Wingly profile, you have the option of contacting pilots in your area and creating one together.
When you find the flight that's right for you, it's very simple: you can either ask questions by sending a private message to the pilot via the Wingly messenger or make a booking directly.
Once the reservation request has been sent, the pilot has 48 hours to accept.
You will see a booking details page with all the necessary information about the airport, meeting point and time. The total cost will be withdrawn from your credit/debit card and we will keep the money until the flight happens.
Weight limits will vary by type of aircraft and the number of passengers.
As a prospective passenger, you will be asked to provide your weight and that of any individuals in your party. Weight limits are extremely important on smaller aircraft, therefore we ask that you submit accurate information and respect any luggage restrictions. Pilots may refuse to carry any passengers who submit inaccurate information.
If your information changes before the flight, inform the pilot via direct message on the Wingly website, e-mail or over the phone.
Once you've arrived at your destination, it is entirely up to you! You can rent a bike, car or just take the bus to the city centre.
Cancellations and flight changes
Wingly is not a commercial airline or a charter service, meaning flights may be cancelled for any reason including weather conditions or at the pilot's discretion.
The pilot is the only one responsible for the "go or no-go" decision and passengers must not under any circumstances try to influence the pilot. As there are no scheduled routes, you are simply sharing the ride with a pilot, we cannot guarantee the flight will go ahead, however, in the case of cancellation, we will issue an automatic refund. In case of cancellation due to weather, you will be refunded 100% by Wingly.
If the pilot has to cancel your flight without finding an alternative date to reschedule, you will be notified immediately and you should receive an automatic refund within 48 hours.
Our cancellation policy is dependent on the flight purchased: a cost sharing flight with a private pilot or one of our "Wingly Pro" commercial flights.
For our cost sharing flights, you are able to cancel your flight up to 24 hours prior to the date of the flight and you will receive a full refund. If you wish to cancel the flight after this period, you will have to contact your pilot as soon as possible in order to ask for a cancellation. If the pilot is unable to cancel the flight during this period, please contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to assist.
Our commercial "Wingly Pro" flights cannot be cancelled by the passenger once the booking has been confirmed by the operator. If the operator cancels your flight for any reason, you will receive a full refund. Any cancellation rules that are specific to a certain flight will be clearly stated in the description.
In the unlikely event that the pilot is not there 30 minutes after the meeting time without any warning of their absence or cancellation of the flight, you can send us a complaint to notify us that the flight did not take place so we may issue a full refund. Within 3 hours of the planned flight time, you will receive an email asking you to confirm if the flight happened or not. To notify us of the problem click the ‘No’ button, fill out the complaint form, send it back to us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If the pilot has informed you that the flight won't happen but has not yet cancelled the flight via Wingly (you will receive an automatic SMS and email confirming a cancellation) you need to contact your pilot to cancel the flight. If you have not received this notification please contact support at [email protected].
Important: After the flight's execution date, you will receive an automatic email to confirm if your flight happened. Please ensure to click on the link and notify us about the flight not taking place within 48 hours of the flight date to receive a refund.
Payments
When booking a flight, you will need to select the payment method for the booking. If using card, we will first take a pre-authorisation for the amount. Once the pilot approves the booking, the money will be withdrawn from your account, and if the booking is refused, the authorisation is removed.
If you use a different payment method, we directly charge your account, but you will receive an immediate refund if the booking is refused.
If your flight is cancelled for any reason, the money will be automatically refunded.
After Wingly receives the booking confirmation, the amount you owe the pilot will be charged to your account. This money will be set aside by Wingly until your flight has been completed, and transferred to the pilot once he has confirmed that the flight has taken place. If your flight is cancelled, you will be refunded in full within 48 hours.
No, and it is very important to adhere to this rule. Aviation regulations prohibit a pilot from accepting any compensation from passengers. Wingly has created a system whereby costs are split equally between the pilot and their passengers but you cannot compensate the pilot any further. Wingly's secure online payment system allows pilots and their passengers to share costs according to the pro-rata and adhering to the law.
In order to comply with the law and to benefit from the added insurance and security that Wingly offers, payment must be made directly through Wingly and it is not possible to pay the pilot in cash. Payments on Wingly can be made by Credit/Debit card or through PayPal.
Do not panic, we thought of everything and created the Wingly Gift Card specifically for you. Simply choose the value of the gift, and the recipient will be able to select the flight of their dreams from any of those advertised on the platform. To offer a gift card, just visit our dedicated page.
Gift Card
Wingly Gift Cards are not personalised, however, they do come printed with the amount and instructions on how to use it.
All Gift Cards are totally flexible and can be used on any flight in the same currency. Please keep in mind that flights bought in GBP cannot be used on flights in Euros and vice versa.
Gift cards purchased through our website are valid for one year. You can extend the card for an additional year during the validity period. Please redeem the gift card so are able to extend it directly in your account. There is no limit to the amount of times you can extend the card, making it lifetime valid.
Gift cards purchased through our external partners follow the policy detailed on their website.
If you select the 'Premium Gift Card' option, you will receive your voucher immediately via email and a printed version will arrive via post in 5-7 working days.
Gift Cards can either be sent to you (the buyer) or straight to the recipient. Simply enter the address you wish for it to be sent to at checkout.
Only one Gift Card can be used per booking, therefore, we recommend purchasing only one Gift Card for the amount of the flight you wish to gift.
Unfortunately not. You can not use gift cards in conjunction with each other or any other promotion.
After buying or receiving a gift card, simply redeem the gift card. When you find a flight that you would like to take, click book the flight and enter your unique gift card code during the flight checkout process.
Yes, if you are the initial buyer you can cancel the order from the order history page and you will get an automated refund to your original payment method.
Please note gift cards are refundable only within 14 days of purchase. Refunds can not be given on expired or exchanged vouchers.
Gift cards bought through external partners follow the policy detailed on their website.
Profile and account
Creating an account only takes a few seconds. Simply register with your email or Facebook account, fill in your name and choose a password. Once you have registered, you can complete your profile by adding a photo, a mini bio and a copy of your ID if you wish.
Trust is the foundation on which the Wingly community rests, for passengers and pilots. By providing some information about yourself, you can help to build trust within this community. Fill in a bit about yourself, your hobbies or even an example of a flight that you would like to share. By bringing a personal touch, you will help other members to engage in conversation with you. You will also be more likely to receive a positive response from a pilot if they know a little more about who they will be travelling with.
It is best to message the pilot before booking a flight via the Wingly internal messenger. Just click the 'message pilot' button on the flight page. You will be able to ask all the questions you want about the flight, discuss the details of the trip, and agree a date and meeting place in order to plan the best possible flight for you and them.
Once your booking is aproved by the pilot, you will also receive their direct contact details.
Wingly has not yet developed it's app for passengers, it's just for pilots for at the moment. However, the website is very responsive and easy to use on all smartphones, and creating a mobile app for passengers is also a big part of our future plans!
Insurance and guarantees
Every user (passenger or pilot) is asked to provide their email address, and optionally validate their passport or photo ID. Passengers who have validated their identity do have a higher rate of acceptance of their flight requests by the pilots, as it is easier for a pilot to trust a validated passenger. This ensures good levels of mutual trust throughout the platform and raises the safety standards.
As well as this, pilots must provide copies of their current licence and medical certificate as well as showing their flight hours, indicating their total flying experience.
In order to ensure safety, security and trust within the Wingly community, we have created a rating system for users. All members are encouraged to fill out a mini bio, add a photo, all helping you to get to know your pilot better. In addition, each pilot must indicate their experience as a pilot on Wingly. They must give their experience in terms of flight time in total, flight time over the past year, and flying hours on the plane that will be used for your flight.
After you've shared a flight, both the pilot and passenger are invited to share their experience. The comments left by other users may also answer some questions you have about a certain flight or pilot.
In general aviation, Passengers, their luggage and third parties on the ground are all covered by the aircraft's liability insurance.
In addition to this, for cost-shared flights operated via private individuals, Wingly has created an insurance policy with Allianz. This insurance is automatically applied by Wingly on bookings made on cost-shared flights.
Wingly Pro flights are operated commercially via partner organisations in accordance with EU regulations and hence are required to insure all their flights. This insurance is directly applied by the partner organisations for all bookings made on their commercial flights advertised by Wingly.
Find more info on our insurance on our Insurance Page.
Joining Wingly
Wingly is the first flightsharing platform in Europe. Through our platform, we connect passengers with private pilots that have empty seats and wish to share the costs of a flight. Pilots share their passion for aviation and get to share the cost of flying, and passengers get to experience a flight in a light aircraft and see incredible landscapes from above at low prices.
By offering private flights at lower costs and getting more people to fly, Wingly shows that private aviation is not just a luxury reserved for the elite. Mankind's oldest dream is democratised and becomes accessible to all, thanks to Wingly.
Yes. According to the European regulation, (see art. 6 paragraph 4a regulation (EU) no. 965/ 2012) pilots are allowed to share flights as long as the aircraft does not exceed 6 seats and has a non-complex power unit. Pilots are only allowed to share the direct costs of the flight, they cannot make any profit. Wingly's policy is that the pilot pays the same share of the flight as the passengers, or more. We have received written confirmation from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), stating that flight sharing and the advertising of flights are completely legal, as long as the pilots do not generate profit from the flights. We have also signed a Safety Charter with the EASA to promote a safety culture for our community. We also have another confirmation letter from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK. In other words, because the flight remains a private one, the pilot does not need a commercial pilot’s licence to share their costs with passengers.
For rented planes, allowable shared costs include rental and fuel costs (rental plus fuel for “dry rate” planes, full rental cost for “wet rate” planes). Pilots flying their own aircraft can share fuel expenses and airport landing and tie-down costs associated with the trip. The Wingly system does not allow amounts paid by any passenger to exceed their pro-rata share of the above costs.
On Wingly, you can cancel flights for any reason due to weather or other circumstances. There is no pressure to fly and passengers are automatically refunded.
You can verify yourself by uploading a photo of your current flying licences with the last ratings and a valid medical certificate. Wingly will then manually verify your profile.
On Wingly, you are the pilot and you choose who you want to fly with. When your passengers request to book, they will put in their weights and their availability and then it's up to you to see who you want to fly with and accept their requests.
Passengers have to enter the total weight of each person in their party and any luggage when booking. You can then decide whether to approve the passenger on your flight or not, depending on their weight.
Making the most out of using Wingly
Wingly is absolutely free to use for pilots. You can post as many flights as possible and are able to share as many flights as you'd like. Our pilot support team is equally available to help you make the most out of your Wingly experience.
This is very simple. You add your bank account information on Wingly and then you get sent a direct wire of their share of the costs. Once you confirm the flight has taken place, there is a 48-hour window until our payment provider will wire you the money via secure bank transfer.
A flexible flight allows you to offer your availabilty to passengers for routes you would like to fly. For example, if you like flying certain days of the week, you can post a flight as flexible. Passengers will be able to select dates based on your availability to make a booking. It will still be up to you to accept the flight based on your final availability.
When adding a flight, you can set a fixed price for a seat. If your flight is longer than estimated, we are sorry to inform you that there is no way of getting a higher amount of money. Please ensure that you calculate the appropriate costs of the flight beforehand. If you have to make an unplanned diversion, please contact us at [email protected] and we will be available to answer any questions.
You and your passengers will have access to each others contact details once you accept a booking request from them to chat further and finalise additional details to plan the day of the flight. Any exchange of contact details prior to a booking is prohibited and your account will be suspended if this is abused.
When adding a flight, you will have to set a meeting point. On the day of the flight, you will need to meet the passengers at the agreed-upon location. In addition, you will also be able to see the passenger’s phone number to notify them of any last-minute changes. The passengers will also see your phone number after the booking has been approved.
After a passenger has made a booking on a specific flight you offer, you simply have to accept it and therefore secure the payment. Once a booking request is placed, you will receive a notification from us via email and SMS. Please be aware that unanswered booking requests get automatically declined after 2 days. Even if you are unavailable to fly with the person on that date, you can always reschedule to fly with them another time.
If your flight did not take place and you had passengers booked on the flight, please ensure you cancel via the Pilot App or the website. If you want to change the date and reschedule the flight, Please ensure to notify your passengers and keep them updated with the status of the flight. You can always cancel the flight as well and your passengers will be fully refunded.
Our cancellation policy is dependent on the flight that you have purchased: a cost sharing flight with a private pilot or one of our commercial "Wingly Pro" flights.
For our cost sharing flights the passenger has the option to cancel a flight up to 24 hours prior to departure. If the passenger wants to cancel within the 24 hours leading up to the flight, it is up to your discretion whether you (the pilot) accept or refuse the cancellation request. If the passenger has any questions regarding the cancellation, you can advise the passenger to contact us at [email protected]
Our commercial "Wingly Pro" flights cannot be cancelled by the passenger once the operator has confirmed the booking. Any cancellation rules that are specific to a certain flight must be clearly stated in the description.
After every scheduled flight, you and the passenger receive an automatic email from us. If the flight does not go ahead, both you, the pilot and the passenger have up to 48 hours after the date of the flight to notify us that the flight did not happen.
Whether it is a discount coupon or a Gift Card, the passenger will need to enter the voucher code at checkout when paying for the flight of their choice on Wingly. You as a pilot will still be paid their share of the cost.
Wingly Pro flights are flights offered by partner commercial aviation organisations. These flights differ from cost-shared flights by private individuals as the flights are made for profit and fall under commercial regulations.
Our cancellation policy depends on the type of flight: a cost-sharing flight with a private pilot or a commercial "Wingly Pro" flight. For our cost-sharing flights, the passenger has the option to cancel a flight up to 24 hours before departure. If the passenger wishes to cancel their flight within 24 hours of departure, you may accept or deny their request. If the passenger has any questions regarding the cancellation, you can direct them to our teams and invite them to contact the following address [email protected] As for our commercial "Wingly Pro" flights, they cannot be cancelled once the reservation request has been confirmed by the operator. If any specific cancellation conditions apply to your flight, they must be clearly stated in the flight's description. As soon as a flight is scheduled, you and the passenger receive an automated email from us. In the event that the flight doesn't take place, the pilot and the passenger have up to 48 hours after the date of the flight to inform us that the flight did not take place.
Whether it be a discount voucher or a gift card, the passenger will only have to enter the code printed on their coupon when paying for the flight of their choice on Wingly to deduct the discount from the total flight amount.
Wingly Pro flights are operated commercially by partner aviation organisations. These flights differ from flights operated privately as part of cost-sharing between private pilots and passengers. In fact, Wingly Pro flights are operated commercially and for profit in compliance with the associated regulation for the specific type of flight.