Surf Air launches air service to Sonoma County

A small, members-only airline will begin service next month from the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport for affluent travelers who regularly fly within California.

Santa Monica-based Surf Air is “the nation’s first all-you-can-fly airline,” said company Vice President Justin Hart. Members pay a $1,000 initiation fee and then can book an unlimited number of flights on the company’s eight-seat aircraft for a monthly fee of $1,850.

For those with means, Surf Air offers a way to avoid “the chaos of commercial airports” and to reduce the time required to travel on typical domestic airlines, said Hart.

“Our members save themselves three to four hours every time they fly,” he said. “It’s really what we call effortless travel.”

Members can book flights by smartphone and need arrive only 20 minutes before flight time to be checked in by a concierge.

Starting May 22, Surf Air will fly daily routes to Santa Rosa from San Carlos in the South Bay and Hawthorne near Los Angeles International Airport.

The new routes are part of a major expansion by Surf Air, which operates about 48 flights daily to seven cities, including Carlsbad north of San Diego, Burbank, Santa Barbara, Oakland and Truckee. Over the next six months, it will add Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Monterey and Palm Springs to its network.

“Santa Rosa’s just a perfect location to go into,” said Hart. The company expects it will attract both North Bay business people and weekend travelers from around the state who wish to visit Wine Country.

Surf Air now has about 1,500 members. Typical members are in their 40s with an average income of between $200,000 and $400,000 a year, the company said. Members often identify themselves as entrepreneurs and business executives with the most common careers in technology, financial services, entertainment and health care. About half own at least two homes.

The bulk of the travel is for business purposes.

The company has closed off new memberships for certain routes due to space constraints. As a result, about 600 people have given deposits and been placed on a waiting list. Even so, the company is still accepting members who wish to fly from Santa Rosa, Hart said.

As part of its expansion plans, Surf Air is adding more planes for the new routes.

The company now owns nine Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft, a Swiss-made single turbo prop that carries up to eight passengers in a pressurized cabin. Next week, Surf Air will purchase its ninth such plane to serve Santa Rosa and by year’s end plans to own a total of 18 aircraft. The company has an option to buy another 50 planes, said Hart.

Surf Air, which began flights in 2013, obtained $65 million in debt financing to enable its expansion, he said.

The Santa Rosa airport now is served by one commercial carrier, Alaska Airlines, with daily flights to Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and San Diego. Lori Schandel, the Sonoma County airport’s property specialist, said Surf Air offers another option for those seeking to get around the state.

“They have an excellent service for those who are able to use their destinations,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit