Common Carriage

Carriage of persons or property offered to the public. FAA guidance names four elements: (1) a holding out of a willingness to (2) transport persons or property (3) from place to place (4) for compensation. How the holding out is done does not matter, and an operator offering only certain kinds of flights, or flights described as free but paid for through a nominal charge, can still be a common carrier. Common carriage requires an operating certificate under Part 119 and is conducted under Part 121 or Part 135; a commercial pilot certificate alone does not authorize it.

Source: summarized from AC 120-12A, Private Carriage Versus Common Carriage of Persons or Property; 14 CFR Part 119.