Surf Airlines Inc., known as Surf Air, is gaining liftoff for a business model attempting success in one of the most capital-intensive, cutthroat enterprises there is: airlines. The California-based company, founded in 2013, uses the recurring revenue from monthly memberships to compete with commercial carriers through a completely different approach. And as the fledgling airline has added new markets in Europe and Texas over the past month, their use of a subscription model to address the business traveler might pay off.

“We’re really addressing that pain point that your business traveler has in wasting time at big airports to fly short-haul trips. When you’re a member of the club, you’re going to get treated differently,” said Barry Holmes (pictured), chief revenue officer of Surf Air.

Holmes appeared on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, and answered questions from host Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), during the recent Zuora Subscribed event in San Francisco, California. They discussed the advantages that the subscription model has brought to Surf Air and ways the company uses data to grow. (* Disclosure below.)

Airline extends membership model

For a monthly membership fee, Surf Air’s 3,000 members use a smartphone app to book travel through executive airports on smaller planes. The airline has been operating primarily in California and Nevada, but began limited service in Europe earlier this month in partnership with Zuora Inc., which manages the subscription service there. Surf Air also recently acquired Rise LLC, a similar subscription-based airline operating in Texas.

“It’s a heavy asset business, so you have to get the value right and the pricing and usage right,” Holmes said. “Those are the lessons we’ve learned over time.”

Surf Air views its passengers as members rather than customers, he added. The distinction is in the recurring revenue model, where members enroll and use the service weekly or even daily, while providing continual feedback to the airline, rather than purchasing a product and just walking away.

Data from the experience plays a key role as well. “We can see how often a member engages with us, which flights they take and which flights they enjoy,” Holmes concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Zuora Subscribed 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Zuora Subscribed 2017. Neither Zuora Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial influence on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE