Florida company sells premium hurricane evacuation flights
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In 2017, millions of Floridians evacuated before Hurricane Irma. Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The next time a hurricane threatens Florida, most residents will either hunker down at home or evacuate by car.
- But a select few will be whisked out of the state on private planes.
Why it matters: A new Florida company is selling premium evacuation flights for people who can afford it.
- "Don't evacuate, depart," is the tagline from PriorityEvac, which is selling $1,250-a-year memberships to residents with primary or secondary homes in Florida.
Driving the news: The company, which launched this summer, is marketed to families with elderly relatives, small children or pets who want to avoid packed highways and dynamic airline pricing.
- The company's leadership includes a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a retired senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center.
How it works: PriorityEvac operates out of six coastal airports in Florida, offering members up to two covered evacuations per hurricane season.
- In general, evacuations are triggered by the formation of a Category 1 hurricane, plus a 40% probability of tropical storm winds at a member's local airport.
- The service is intended for "storms that present a genuine, near-term threat to the specific coast a member lives on," a spokesperson tells Axios.
- Members are flown from their local airport to Atlanta on Airbus A320 planes.
For a single member, it costs $1,250 per year regardless of whether they take the evacuation flight.
- A family of four would pay $4,400 a year, with additional household members paying $1,100. Small pets are $125.
- Members must pay for their own lodging and flights back home from Atlanta, along with any other travel expenses.
Reality check: The Florida Division of Emergency Management says "evacuations don't have to be hundreds of miles away."
- "If you are ordered to evacuate, your safest and easiest option may be to stay with friends or family who live outside the evacuation zone or in a stronger house."
What they're saying: PriorityEvac says its service is "an option for households who want a different level of distance and certainty when a hurricane hits."
- Customers avoid "the storm's broader impact," the spokesperson noted, like power outages and flooding.
The bottom line: PriorityEvac is "not claiming to replace public evacuation or telling people they can't be safe without us."
- "We're offering an option for people who've decided to put a plan in place instead of having their family's safe departure depend on whatever seats, fuel, and road capacity happen to be left at the last minute."