Wingz Review: Higher Earnings, See Where Your Riders Are Going!

Are you the type of driver who goes above and beyond for passengers? Do you regularly get compliments and tips for being a kind, funny, or interesting driver? If this sounds like you, you won’t want to miss this review of rideshare company Wingz from senior RSG contributor Paula Gibbins.

We all know about the big rideshare platforms like Uber and Lyft, but there are many smaller players vying for market share as well these days. One of those companies is Wingz.

Wingz is a little more selective about their drivers and the vehicles they allow on their platform, which is a good thing if you consider yourself a top driver.

What is Wingz?

Learn more about Wingz in the video below: What Is Wingz?

 

On their driver sign-up page, Wingz encourages drivers to join the Wingz Favorite Driver Team to “build relationships with their riders and enjoy higher earnings”. So that’s really the main value proposition for drivers, compared to other services like Uber and Lyft.

If you’re customer-serviced oriented and take pride in the interactions you have with passengers, this might be a great fit for you.

In addition to being customer-serviced focused, you’ll also need the following to become a Wingz driver:

  • Your vehicle needs to be an SUV, minivan or full-size/premium sedan
  • Own a vehicle in good working condition that is less than 5 years old
  • At least 21 years old

Wingz even encourages you to hand out business cards to build a relationship with your passengers and grow your business. Wingz also boasts the possibility of higher earnings than on Uber and Lyft (more on that below).

Even more appealing for a lot of drivers… you get to see where your passengers are headed at ALL times! You know the pickup and dropoff locations, plus the date and time of pickup. You have full control over which rides you take. Plus, you see your fare upfront.

The app even shows you how many people to expect, and if they have luggage, it shows how many bags they will have with them. Plus, you see the flight number, so you can track on your own if it’s on-time, delayed or canceled, so you aren’t wasting your time waiting around for a flight that’s stuck in another city for two hours.

Background of Wingz

Wingz is a transportation service based in San Francisco and was actually founded in 2011, so they’re not an overnight sensation. Wingz has been building a presence for years now! Harry even tried out Wingz as a passenger back when he visited Austin to cover Uber and Lyft pulling out of the city.

Their drivers are considered personal drivers and are expected to provide top-quality customer service. All of the rides are pre-scheduled (at least 2 hours in advance), so drivers are able to plan their day around these trips.

Because of the pre-scheduled nature of most trips, there seems to be a focus on airport runs with Wingz, though they do service major cities around the U.S. as well.

Where Does Wingz Operate?

Wingz is currently operating in:

  • Austin
  • Dallas
  • Houston
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • Phoenix
  • Portland
  • Sacramento
  • San Antonio
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco Bay area
  • Seattle

How Much Do Wingz Drivers Make?

It’s tough to put an hourly wage on Wingz since you might do a few trips here and there and since the rides are pre-scheduled, there will be some downtime. But according to Wingz, their average fare today is $73, and the driver gets an average of $55 including tips.

Peter, a rideshare driver for Uber, Lyft and Wingz in the San Francisco area, reported that Wingz is by far his favorite platform to work on.

For the week of June 21 through June 27, Peter made over $1,000 just driving for weekends – check out his spreadsheet below!

For the week of July 19 through July 25, Peter earned a total of $1,859 on the Wingz platform alone. Among all three apps, he was averaging a total of $51 an hour for that week.

Here’s how pay breaks down for Wingz drivers:

There’s a $4 platform fee per ride and 5% of the shareable revenue for favorite driver bookings, and 12% of the shareable revenue for general bookings, where the driver was not favorited. “Shareable revenue” is everything Wingz can share, except Airport fees, financial fees, insurance.

Tolls and tips are not part of the shareable revenue and go directly to the driver.

How to Get Started with Wingz

You can sign up for Wingz directly on their website. Wingz only encourages drivers who are actually in their active areas to apply. As part of the application form, you’ll need to select your driving market before being considered for the position.

Now, one key difference between signing up for Uber/Lyft and Wingz is that the processing time generally takes longer with Wingz. This is due to the onboarding Wingz does – they only onboard according to demand and need fewer drivers because they are pre-scheduled rides only. Plus, there is a required, in-person info call process you’ll need to attend before being allowed to start the onboarding process..

Other requirements include that you must be at least 21 years old, and own a vehicle in good working condition that is less than 5 years old, and that vehicle needs to be a small or large SUV, minivan, or luxury sedan.

Much like other rideshare platforms, you will also need a reliable iPhone or Android to accept fares on the Wingz app.

With an influx of drivers applying with Wingz, they prioritize drivers who fully fill out the application and have a complete profile. So, if you want to be considered, be sure to take the time to complete your profile.

What are Drivers Saying About Wingz?

As mentioned above, Peter prefers Wingz over the other platforms and will schedule his day around his Wingz trips. Since he can choose which fares he accepts, and since he can see where he’s going for the pickup and dropoff, he can plan out a route that makes the most sense and then uses Uber and Lyft to fill in any gaps, utilizing the destination filters for those platforms when needed.

There were some bad reviews stating that the driver support is lackluster, to say the least. So, bear in mind that if you do need support, you may need some extra patience.

If you like rideshare driving and the idea of seeing all of the information upfront so you can schedule your day in advance, give Wingz a try.

Ready to sign up with Wingz? Get started here!

Have you heard of Wingz or used it as a driver or passenger?

-Paula @ RSG