Preamble
The interactive online portal Aviatefinder is operated by Aviatefinder UG (haftungsbeschränkt) (hereinafter referred to as “Aviatefinder”). Its purpose is the technical facilitation of cost-shared flight opportunities on a self-cost basis pursuant to Article 6(4a) of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 by the providers of such flight opportunities (hereinafter referred to as “Pilots”) to the users of the platform (hereinafter referred to as “Passengers”).
Aviatefinder provides access to and use of the flight-sharing platform on the basis of these General Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). These Terms govern the relationship between Aviatefinder, as operator of the flight-sharing platform, and the Pilots and Passengers registered for the flight-sharing platform.
§ 1 Registration
The option to offer flight opportunities on Aviatefinder is available to every Pilot and Passenger (hereinafter referred to as “registered Users”) once they have successfully registered for access to Aviatefinder. Registration takes place in the designated registration portal, when booking a flight or when submitting a flight request, and requires all information marked as mandatory to be provided completely and correctly.
Registration requires the entry of the data needed for registration and agreement to the application of these Terms. Each User may only be registered once at any given time. Users have no entitlement to registration.
Upon successful registration, an agreement concerning the use of Aviatefinder (“User Agreement”) is concluded between Aviatefinder and the registered User. The content of the User Agreement is determined by these Terms.
§ 2 Services provided by Aviatefinder
Aviatefinder provides an independent flight-sharing platform. The platform enables Passengers to search for flight opportunities offered by Pilots and to contact them for the purpose of joining a flight.
Aviatefinder’s service is limited to purely technical facilitation through the operation of the platform on which registered Users may enter into agreements with one another concerning a shared flight.
Consequently, an agreement concerning a specific shared flight is concluded solely between the Pilot and the Passenger.
Aviatefinder’s services include the final determination of the portions of the flight’s self-costs to be borne by the Passengers and, in particular, the resulting payment to the Pilot. In order to provide these services, Aviatefinder receives and administers the amounts paid in advance by Passengers. Aviatefinder’s performance ends when the Passenger payments due to the Pilot have been paid out or when excess amounts paid have been refunded.
Registration on Aviatefinder and the search for flight opportunities are free of charge for Pilots and Passengers.
§ 3 Offering a flight opportunity
Publication of a flight opportunity by the Pilot constitutes a binding offer to conclude a shared-flight agreement between the Pilot and the Passenger, although the Pilot has the right to withdraw the offer at any time free of charge. The content of the flight offer, including the date and time of the flight, departure and landing locations, price and number of available seats, is specified by the Pilot when the offer is created.
Unless specific arrangements are made, the offer covers the carriage of the selected number of people without baggage or other items that would occupy storage space in the aircraft beyond the relevant Passenger seat, or whose carriage a Passenger could not reasonably expect because of the nature of the item. This applies in particular to items prohibited by law or dangerous items, including dangerous goods, and to items that could adversely affect the Pilot, a Passenger or the aircraft. The Pilot may include different or more specific information in the offer, which takes precedence over this general rule.
§ 4 Booking and amendment of a flight offer
The offer is accepted (hereinafter referred to as the “Booking”) by selecting the “Pay now” button.
After the Booking but before the flight, the Pilot and Passenger may amend or specify the content of the shared-flight agreement by mutual consent. Any amendment has no effect on Aviatefinder’s commission, which is always calculated on the basis of the contribution to flight costs stated in the flight offer.
§ 5 Cancellation of flight opportunities and failure to appear
Passengers may cancel the shared flight using the relevant function on the flight-sharing platform. Aviatefinder will refund the amounts paid in full but will retain the payment-provider commission and the Aviatefinder fee.
Unless otherwise provided, cancellation is possible without stating a reason. Aviatefinder will notify the Pilot or Passenger of the cancellation.
If a payment failure occurs in connection with a reservation paid for online, for example because of insufficient funds, the Pilot authorises Aviatefinder to reject the reservation on the Pilot’s behalf and to release the relevant seats again.
If the flight is not cancelled in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 before the scheduled flight start time, the Pilot and Passenger must wait for one another at the agreed departure location for 30 minutes.
The Pilot may withdraw a flight offer that has not yet been accepted at any time. If reservations have already been made, an important reason for the cancellation must be stated and the Passengers must be informed without delay. Aviatefinder will refund the amounts paid in full.
If the Pilot fails to appear, Aviatefinder will arrange a full refund of the amounts paid to the Passengers. The Passenger must report the Pilot’s failure to appear within 72 hours after the scheduled departure time using the function provided on the platform. Claims for damages against the Pilot are expressly not covered by this provision.
§ 6 Facilitation commission
For facilitating a flight opportunity, Aviatefinder receives from the Passengers a commission in the form of a percentage of the cost contribution per seat stated in the offer, subject to a minimum commission depending on the type of flight.
Aviatefinder informs registered Users of the amount of the applicable commission when the relevant flight opportunity is created and during the booking process.
§ 7 Payment transactions
Passengers may pay flight costs online using PayPal. Aviatefinder reserves the right to introduce additional payment methods or discontinue existing ones. Online payment methods may vary by country. The terms of the relevant payment provider (“Payment Service Provider”), which can be viewed during the payment process, also apply to the payment options. In this respect, Aviatefinder merely provides the interface to the Payment Service Providers’ services.
Depending on the selected payment method, the Payment Service Provider performs different tasks in preparation for the payment of amounts or performs the payment itself.
Aviatefinder collects the amounts from the Passenger and, after the flight and the recording of the self-costs on the platform, transfers them to the Pilot as a cost contribution after deduction of the commission and in accordance, in particular, with the statutory rules governing private cost-shared flights under Article 6(4a) of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012.
If, in order to preserve the self-cost character of the flight, part of the flight costs must be refunded to individual Passengers, the refund will be made by issuing a voucher that may be used for all chargeable Aviatefinder services. Payment of the voucher amount in cash is excluded.
§ 8 Additional duties and rights
Registered Users undertake to keep the data provided during registration and when using Aviatefinder up to date at all times, in particular their surname, first name, email address, mobile telephone number and, where applicable, bank and other contact details. This includes the obligation to inform Aviatefinder immediately of any changes or to update the data in the User account. They must also provide all information truthfully and, in particular, must not conceal their identity.
Registered Users must not allow any third party to access the User area using their access credentials and may create and use only one User account exclusively in their own name. Registering third parties on Aviatefinder without their knowledge and consent, or publishing posts or content in their name, is likewise prohibited.
Information published on the flight-sharing platform may be used for private purposes only. Registered Users are prohibited, in particular, from referring to commercial offers of other companies in flight offers or in communications with one another, for example advertising messages disguised as flight opportunities. Contact with other Users, whether through the integrated messaging system, by email or through other forms of communication, is permitted solely for arranging shared flights. In the event of a breach, a contractual penalty of EUR 1,000 is payable to Aviatefinder.
All Aviatefinder Users must comply with the law applicable at the relevant time when using the website. This includes, in particular, the prohibition on publishing insulting, false, violence-glorifying, harmful-to-minors, racist or pornographic content and the prohibition on publishing legally protected intellectual property.
The commercial offering of flight opportunities is prohibited. Commercial flights are characterised, in particular, by the Pilot offering them with the intention of making a profit. Only flights operated according to the self-cost principle under Article 6(4a) of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 may be offered on Aviatefinder.
By registering with Aviatefinder and by publishing a specific flight offer, Pilots and Passengers undertake not to use the information and platform functions made available to them to arrange a transaction outside Aviatefinder. If Aviatefinder becomes aware of such circumvention, it expressly reserves the right to assert claims for damages against those involved.
By publishing information in connection with flight opportunities, the Pilot grants Aviatefinder a revocable and transferable right to use the relevant information, limited to use in connection with the platform and the purpose of the agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, and in accordance with the purpose of the agreement, this grant of rights includes displaying the information within partner programmes and therefore on third-party services. Aviatefinder requires all operators of such partner programmes to use the information only temporarily for display within the service and not to store it permanently.
Every User must ensure that the content and materials they use are free of third-party rights and do not infringe third-party rights. The User indemnifies Aviatefinder against third-party claims asserted against Aviatefinder because of content or materials uploaded by the User or because of the User’s conduct, including the reasonable costs of legal defence thereby incurred.
§ 10 Dispute resolution
If conflicts arise in connection with the arrangement, facilitation or performance of flight opportunities through Aviatefinder, or with the rating of individual Users, Users may contact Aviatefinder using the available communication channels. Aviatefinder provides a dispute-handling process. Aviatefinder decides disputes at its own discretion, weighing the interests of all Users involved and, where applicable, third parties and taking recognised rules of conduct and principles derived from experience into account. This dispute-resolution option is not legally binding. Aviatefinder is also under no obligation to investigate every dispute fully.
Both the Pilot and the Passenger must participate to the best of their ability in clarifying a dispute. This includes, in particular, answering Aviatefinder’s questions truthfully within a reasonable period.
§ 11 Term and termination of the User Agreement, review of flight offers and retention of ratings
Registration and the resulting User Agreement are concluded for an indefinite period. Both the Pilot and Aviatefinder may terminate the User relationship ordinarily with immediate effect at any time.
Aviatefinder may also terminate the User Agreement with immediate effect if a Pilot or Passenger attracts attention through contributions on the flight-sharing platform that breach the Terms of Use, otherwise breaches material provisions of those Terms of Use, or receives a large number of negative ratings, generally ten. Where appropriate, Aviatefinder will issue a warning before terminating the User Agreement.
Without prejudice to the possibility of terminating the User Agreement, Aviatefinder reserves the right, in the cases referred to in paragraph 2, to exclude the Pilot or Passenger from one or more services, including with immediate effect, to assign the Pilot or Passenger an appropriate rating taking account of all circumstances known to Aviatefinder and/or to deactivate an account temporarily.
Aviatefinder may, at its own discretion but taking the legitimate interests of the person concerned into account, take specific measures in relation to individual flight offers or other publications where such measures are necessary and appropriate to protect the interests of other Users, Aviatefinder or third parties. These measures include, in particular, deleting a flight offer, messages or ratings. This applies especially where an infringement of the law exists or is imminent. The right of termination under paragraphs 1 and 2 remains unaffected.
After termination of the User Agreement, existing flight data and ratings will be stored by Aviatefinder in anonymised form only.
§ 12 Warranty and liability
Aviatefinder does not warrant the proper operation, uninterrupted usability or uninterrupted availability of the flight-sharing platform at all times, because server disruptions or variations in the quality of access to the platform cannot be excluded for technical reasons.
As a service provider within the meaning of the German Telemedia Act, Aviatefinder is not obliged to monitor information transmitted or stored by its Users or to investigate circumstances indicating unlawful activity. If Aviatefinder obtains actual knowledge of such circumstances, however, Aviatefinder will examine the matter and remove or block the unlawful content without delay.
Aviatefinder gives no warranty that all provisions of aviation law, whether national, European or international, are complied with. Compliance with the relevant rules is the sole responsibility of the Pilot. In this respect, Aviatefinder is liable only for ensuring, on the basis of the information provided about flight costs, that the Pilot does not make a profit.
Because Aviatefinder acts solely as an intermediary for flight opportunities, all liability for damage arising from performance of the flight itself is excluded in particular. Aviatefinder’s liability is excluded unless the damage results from injury to life, limb or health or is based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by Aviatefinder.
In all other respects, Aviatefinder is liable in accordance with the statutory provisions.
§ 13 Data-protection consent
The User consents to their personal data being processed beyond the purpose of the agreement within the following scope:
Display of User data: Aviatefinder stores and publishes the personal data entered by the Pilot during or after registration also for the purpose of informing Users who are not yet registered and Passengers who are not logged in about the current range of flight opportunities. For this purpose, Aviatefinder also displays the following User data to unregistered or logged-out Users on the flight-sharing platform: name, photograph, age, home airfield and flights offered by the User.
§ 14 Applicable law, jurisdiction and final provisions
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded. The statutory place of jurisdiction applies to consumers within the meaning of section 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
If individual provisions of these Terms are wholly or partly invalid, this does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
Aviatefinder reserves the right to amend provisions of these Terms in accordance with the procedure set out below if changes that were neither initiated by Aviatefinder nor can be influenced by Aviatefinder materially disturb the balance existing when the agreement was concluded. Such reasons include, in particular, changes in legislation, changes in higher-court case law and the introduction of new technical functions. Such changes include, in particular, changes in legislation, changes in higher-court case law and material changes in market conditions. A judicial finding that individual provisions of these Terms are invalid and any gaps in the agreement may also entitle Aviatefinder to amend the Terms if this creates difficulties in performing the User Agreement. Aviatefinder will notify the User of amendments to the Terms by email. If the User does not object to the application of the new Terms within six (6) weeks after receiving the email, the amended Terms will be deemed agreed. The User will be expressly informed of this period in the notice of amendment. If the User objects to the application of the new Terms within six (6) weeks, Aviatefinder remains entitled to terminate the User Agreement in accordance with section 11.
§ 15 Payment service / PSP clarification
Payments are processed through a licensed payment service provider (Payment Service Provider, “PSP”) using a separate escrow or pooled account. Aviatefinder does not provide payment services within the meaning of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG) or PSD2, does not hold customer funds in its own name and is not a party to the payment-service agreement.
§ 16 Refunds
Refunds are generally made using the original payment method. A voucher is used only if the User agrees or a cash refund is technically impossible.
§ 17 Digital services and moderation (DSA compliance)
Users may report unlawful content or content that breaches the rules to impressum@aviatefinder.com under a notice-and-action procedure. Aviatefinder reviews reports promptly, informs the persons concerned of decisions, including the reasons, and provides an internal complaints procedure.
Criteria for ranking and sorting offers: [e.g. recency, distance, price or cost share, ratings, relevance]. Special labels, such as sponsored or partner labels, are clearly identified.
Sanctions for breaches include warnings, downranking, temporary suspension, and deletion of content or accounts; reasons and avenues of redress are communicated.
§ 18 Voluntary flight monitoring (opt-in)
Pilots may participate in flight monitoring voluntarily. Data collected: departure and landing time, route and position events, flight duration and aircraft type. Purpose: safety analysis, quality improvement and community trust. Retention period: 24 months. Data is disclosed only in aggregated or anonymised form or where required by law or an official order.
§ 19 Pilot assurances and insurance
Before publishing an offer, the Pilot confirms: a valid licence and medical certificate, the required ratings, for example VFR or IFR and class or type ratings, insurance cover including passenger carriage, and that airworthiness, weight and balance and performance have been checked. The Pilot in Command retains full decision-making authority and may refuse carriage at any time for safety reasons.
§ 20 Consumer information / withdrawal / ODR / VSBG
Where applicable, there is no right of withdrawal for time-specific leisure or transport services under section 312g(2) no. 9 BGB. In all other cases, the statutory rights of withdrawal apply.
EU online dispute-resolution platform: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ .
Aviatefinder is (not) willing and (not) obliged to participate in dispute-resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board pursuant to section 36 of the German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG).
§ 21 App permissions and consents
The app uses location, push notifications and, where applicable, storage or camera access solely for the following purposes: navigation to airfields, status notifications, uploading documents such as licences, and uploading profile images. Permissions can be withdrawn at any time in the device settings. The Terms, Privacy Policy and codes of conduct are accepted by checkbox during onboarding and before booking.
§ 22 No tour operator / no package travel
Aviatefinder is not a tour operator and does not offer package travel within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2015/2302. Aviatefinder facilitates only private cost-shared flights between Users.
§ 23 Minors, dangerous goods and baggage
Minors may be carried only with the consent of, or when accompanied by, a parent or legal guardian. Dangerous goods and illegal items are excluded. Baggage and weight limits and seat restrictions must be observed; the Pilot may refuse baggage for safety reasons.
§ 24 Availability, technology and data retention
No specific availability or service level is promised; maintenance windows may occur. Data is backed up in accordance with the state of the art. Deletion and retention periods: account and profile data until deletion, transaction and booking data for the statutory periods, and monitoring data in accordance with section 18.
§ 25 App-store information
Apple Inc. and Google LLC are not parties to agreements concluded through Aviatefinder. Provider: Aviatefinder UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Kuhnkestraße 6, 24118 Kiel, Germany, impressum@aviatefinder.com, VAT ID DE458931854. Legal texts are linked in the store listings.
EASA Safety Charter – publication requirements
The documents available at the following link apply:
https://www.aviatefinder.com/safety-trust
8.1 Scope
The following provisions on cancellation, refunds and payments apply to all bookings facilitated through the Aviatefinder platform between Pilots and Travellers.
8.2 Cancellation by a Traveller before the flight
If a Traveller cancels a confirmed booking before the flight is performed, the refund is made according to the following principles:
- a) The cost share attributable to the Pilot is refunded in full.
- b) The service fee charged by Aviatefinder is refunded in full.
- c) Fees charged by the Payment Service Provider, including transaction or payment-processing fees, are excluded from the refund insofar as they are not reimbursed to Aviatefinder.
The non-refundable Payment Service Provider fee is generally approximately 1.0% to 2.5% of the relevant booking amount.
8.3 Cancellation by the Pilot
The Pilot may cancel a flight only after prior coordination with all affected Travellers.
For the cancellation to be effective, all Travellers must first have cancelled their respective Bookings or expressly agreed to the cancellation.
The Pilot’s right to cancel a flight for safety reasons, in particular because of weather conditions, technical defects or official requirements, remains unaffected.
8.4 Confirmation after the flight
After the flight has been completed successfully, both the Pilot and the Traveller must confirm the flight in the app by selecting the “Confirm flight” function.
Payment to the Pilot is initiated only after both parties have confirmed that the flight took place.
8.5 Conflicting or missing confirmations and disputes
If confirmations differ or are not provided, Aviatefinder reserves the right to initiate a clarification and mediation process.
This applies in particular in the following cases:
- a) the Pilot confirms the flight and the Traveller does not;
- b) the Pilot confirms the flight and the Traveller reports a problem or refuses confirmation;
- c) the Traveller confirms the flight and the Pilot does not.
In these cases, Aviatefinder may contact both parties to clarify the facts and request supporting evidence.
Payment remains suspended until the review has been completed.
8.6 Payments to Pilots
Payments are made exclusively through the Payment Service Provider used by Aviatefinder, currently Stripe.
Payment requires:
- a) confirmation of the flight by both parties;
- b) no unresolved dispute or reported problem; and
- c) a fully completed and verified payout account.
After successful release, the amount is credited to the Pilot’s wallet. The credit is generally made within three to four banking days.
The subsequent payment to the registered bank account is made by SEPA transfer and generally takes a further two banking days.
8.7 Wallet and availability
An amount displayed in the wallet is considered available for withdrawal only once it has been finally released by the Payment Service Provider.
The mere display of an amount in the wallet does not establish an immediate entitlement to payment.
Partial and full withdrawals are possible at any time from the available balance.
8.8 Delays caused by Payment Service Providers and banks
Aviatefinder has no direct influence on processing times, holding periods or delays caused by Payment Service Providers, banks or other third parties.
Aviatefinder accepts no liability for resulting delays.
8.9 Problem cases and binding decision
If either party uses the “Report a problem” function, payment is paused until the matter has been finally resolved.
After reviewing the individual case, Aviatefinder may take, in particular, the following measures:
- a) full payment to the Pilot;
- b) a partial or full refund to the Traveller; or
- c) another appropriate platform-side solution.
A decision made by Aviatefinder following review is binding on the parties unless mandatory statutory rights provide otherwise.
8.10 Storage of payment data
Bank and payment data is processed and stored exclusively by the Payment Service Provider used.
Aviatefinder does not store Users’ complete bank-account data or payment information.