5 May 2020
IMPORTANT NEWS: We’re changing the way FLYER magazine is to be distributed in the future. From the next (July 2020) issue, FLYER is to be a digital magazine, not paper. What’s more, it will be free to all who sign up to receive it – wherever you are in the world.
Yes, FREE, and you can sign up right now to receive the next issue and others that follow. Register here.
There’s even more. We are also launching General Aviation’s best-ever club:
The FLYER Club – more below.
The Covid-19 lockdown has meant that significantly fewer shops are open, and those that are open are seeing significantly lower footfall. Airports and other travel hubs are either closed or nearly empty of people and that’s where FLYER – and many other magazines – sell many copies.
This means all magazine and newspaper publishers are faced with the prospect of printing thousands of copies and seeing them end up being pulped as waste. That’s not good for anybody.
To counter this problem, and to provide you with a better, deeper and more engaging experience, we have decided to go digital. It’s been something we’ve been thinking about for some time and we’ve accelerated the process.
As well as the free FLYER, we are also launching General Aviation’s best-ever club:
The FLYER Club.
If you are already a subscriber to FLYER then you will be automatically enrolled as a Founder Member. If you’re not a subscriber and you’d like to join – great and welcome to the club.
All this for less than the cost of a cup of coffee every month. Yes, to become a member of The FLYER Club with all the above benefits is the same as our current subscription rate: £30 a year which can be paid in one go or as £7.50 per quarter.
If you have a current subscription, membership of the club is automatic, no action is required.
| Members | Non-members | |
| 13 great digital issues of FLYER every year | ✓ | ✓ |
| Use of 6 free landing fees each issue | ✓ | X |
| Free digital copy of A View from The Hover, worth £9.97 | ✓ | X |
| Access to a rich content private lounge* on flyer.co.uk | ✓ | X |
| Exclusive twice weekly weather briefings by Dr Simon Keeling | ✓ | X |
| Additional editorial content | ✓ | X |
| Monthly online club meetup with special guests | ✓ | X |
| Exclusive member discounts | ✓ | X |
*The FLYER Club lounge is currently under construction, it will be opening in the next couple of weeks, watch your email for an invitation and news of other membership benefits.
44 comments
I much prefer a hard copy, it would be interesting to see age profile preferences. I find a digital screen difficult to manage outside and cause eye strain. Also we are discouraged to read from digital mediums in the evening before sleep and thump this into teenagers.
My son is happy with either digital or hard copy.
My grandchildren prefer digital
I will persist for now and see how I get on but, from my past experience, it does not bode well for a continued subscription – after many, many years of happy reading.
Hello John. Most of us on the mag would love to continue with a paper product. We really enjoy the whole process of putting it together, crafting every page, every line of text, making sure every photo is at its best. And then seeing the finished product printed. But that’s not an option right now with the newstrade pulping leftover mags (all mags and newspapers, not just ours) at an unprecedented rate because there are no customers.
We will continue to pay as much care and attention to the mag as always, and we’re very keen to make it the best possible experience on digital. Undoubtedly, we will learn lessons along the way – and feel free to tell us about your experiences, good and bad. We will listen and we will react.
Meanwhile, thanks for being a subscriber!
Happy subscriber here and will continue to be happy under the new circumstances. I paid my £30 per year mainly to support the Forum anyway.
Thanks Team
All understood.
Suggest you browse the EAA digital .pdf magazine as one that is easier to ‘read’ than some. Straightforward and simple with nothing flashy or flashing.
Cheers
John
Wilco!
I’ve not been a paid subscriber before, but like the website – and the thought of losing Simon Keeling’s bi-weekly flying forecasts is probably enough to make me pay to join. As someone who likes to fly off to the continent for weekends in the summer (VFR + IMC), they can be a really helpful planning guide. But in return, would he be able to expand to cover the near continent a bit more (especially from when the clocks go forward to when they go back)?
Thanks.
Good idea! We’ll suggest it to Simon!
Two great ideas…I look forward to using the extras which membership offers. Too old to recall how long I’ve subscribed.
Mmm!
Two obvious facts :
Covid-19 will end & magazines will again be available in shops.
Printing / Postage / Distribution is one of your biggest expenses, which you will no longer experience, however the subscription remains the same. So a big gain for Flyer & a big loss for the greater majority of us who prefer a paper copy.
Very disappointing, I will sadly have to cancel my subscription.
Hello Greg. Thanks for your comment. We will, of course, refund your subscription. It’s just isn’t viable to print the magazine at the moment with so many copies sitting in warehouses before going to be pulped.
Not for me. Subscription will sadly be cancelled.
Sorry to hear that Paul. We will, of course, refund your subscription.
I hope you will consider going back to print in the future. I have just ensured the subscriptions to the magazines I like – Flyer, Aeroplane and Flypast, are up to date and look forwards to receiving them every month.
Regards
Phil
Hello Phil. Thank you for re-subscribing. We have not ruled out a return to print but it’s just not viable at this point. Best wishes, Flyer
I installed the app to read the digital copies when I took out the subscription, wasn’t a pleasant experience and like most other subscribers prefer the hard copy by far. It begins to feel like just another website rather than a book.
As print and distribution are likely to be some of the largest costs in the business does this mean our subscription price will reduce accordingly or are we subsiding the free version and increasing the gross margin for the magazine?
Hello Phil. We’re working hard on a much better digital experience than what we have at the moment. It’ll be at least a month away but we believe it will be well worth it. We have not ruled out a return to print but it’s just not viable at the moment. We hope the extra benefits and features that being a subscriber (and thus a Founder member of The Flyer Club) brings will be worth much more than the £2.50 a month. For instance, the free landing fees are only available to subscribers/members and are worth at least £44 in the latest issue alone.