...how much more expensive AOPA "benefits" have become since Phil Boyer left? Well, after today it struck me that it's getting expensive to maintain both a basic membership
and to sustain the previously-much-vaulted "Member Benefits" -- bennies for decades included in that $39.95/year membership.
The first change to catch my attention came in the form of the AOPA Medical Services Desk; for years, the advice and assistance of that desk's staff was a member benefit, all inclusive...now what's free is a basic Q&A service, mostly Web based, it seems, with links that still help people find an AME, check drug eligibility and such; but the complex stuff for which we generally need expert help to retain or restore medical certificates is only available through one of two levels of fee-for-service programs. Humm....OK...
What irked me first was the announcement making it sound like AOPA was creating this bold new effort on behalf of members...YEAH! Maybe they're making it better...
Knowing full well that such a benefit had long existed, it floored me, upon reading further, that this wonderful "new" program required more money: either "just $37 a year" for the base Essential Medical Services Program or, if I wanted the full-up Comprehensive Program it "is offered for $99."
OK...free before, a hundred bucks now...
Today it happened again. It came in my e-mail box, an AOPA invitation to reserve my print copy of "AOPA Airports." That thick, phone-book like document has had a place in flight bags for decades -- courtesy of AOPA's Member Benefits program that boasted how much more value existed in those benefits than the cost of membership. Ordering before a certain date assures me of "free shipping" -- but requires a member to also pony up $19.95 -- $39.95 for non-members...
OK, I understand that printing is expensive -- even on cheap phone-book-like paper; I understand that the product is now available in electronic form...that form will be cold comfort sitting somewhere with no electricity, no internet and no hard copy to leaf through looking for a better airport...and must admit, I'm not really a devotee of activating an electronic device for every question or need -- particularly when I'm traveling...I liked having a choice of how to receive my "Member Benefit"...now I have a choice between what's cheapest for the association and what's preferable to me -- for $19.95, shipping free if...yaddayaddayadda...
This trend is distressing.
Sorry, old AOPA Friends, but the appeal of belonging to this admirable association is shrinking; it remains justifiable for supporting AOPA advocacy; but embracing "member benefits" is getting too expensive to justify and another association is looking like a better place for my bucks.
What do you all think? Is "Pilot" magazine juicy enough for you to pony up the money for it alone (presuming print copies remain a "Member Benefit")? Do you maintain membership out of a sense of allegiance to the General Aviation Cause -- even if you seldom crack the magazine?
Is the luster of AOPA membership tarnishing under the seemingly increasing need for green? Let me know...makes me sort of curious about whether it's just the curmudgeon in me...
But right now, a line the actor John Vernon uttered in the movie "The Outlaw Jody Wales" is playing in my head -- a line about, well, legs and rain...and right now here in The Air Capital, the sky is clear...
-- Dave
Uncontrolled Airspace Blog
