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 have been a buyer/subscriber since the first issue. I fully understand the reasons for the change and I expect to be forced down this route by the two newspapers I subscribe to shortly.
Nevertheless I hate reading magazine/newspapers on a device and view this as a retrograde step albeit understandable. No doubt time will soften my view but not by much. Thanks for 30 yrs of print.
Hi Andrew, Ed from Flyer here. Personally, I’ve always loved paper too – hence why we’ve always used the best print and paper quality we can. But right now, this is the best way to keep producing the magazine we know people enjoy reading.
Thanks for understanding and your continued support – the whole team here appreciates it. It’s our aim is to deliver the best digital reading experience we can – feedback will be essential.
I totally understand why you don’t want to distribute printed copies of the magazine to shops with only the hope that they will be purchased but surely you could still print copies that are distributed via the post to your pre-paid subscribers.
I dislike reading electronic copies of publications and far prefer the printed matter in my hand (especially on a sunny day in the garden). If you must go ‘Digital’ then please format it to be easily viewed on a PC landscape display and don’t assume we all have iPads or similar portable devices.
By the way, I also use a paper chart and stopwatch when flying!
Thanks Ken, economy of scale allows us to do both subscribers and newstand copies, but not just the subscriber copies alone.
We’ll make sure we deliver the digital copy of FLYER in a format that makes it just as easy to use on a PC, as it is on a tablet or phone.
I think it’s a great idea and good for the environment too. Well done for making what must be a hard decision. I will keep reading.
Thanks for your support Stephen. We’ll keep working hard to make the magazine readers enjoy.
I’ve just paid an annual fee upfront. I DO NOT want to read off a device. Are you going to refund my subscription?
We are wearing masks to protect ourselves from COVID-19, Not to rob people.
Hi Angus, Ed from FLYER here. We totally understand that some would prefer to stay with print. As the email to subscribers mentioned, if you decide the FLYER Club benefits aren’t for you, then we’ll happily refund the remaining balance of your subscription.
A free version of the magazine will still be available to read and enjoy for free.
Flyer Club? That rings a bell 😀
You’ve been around long enough to remember the Club from years gone by!
Flyer Club? Same here, Rob! Looked it up on my email. I’ve got a flat plan from 2007 where it’s squished between the Cessna Mustang and Polly Vacher 🙂
I see on the Facebook page several of your responses to comments saying….the email to subscribers says…..
I am a subscriber but haven’t received an email.
Hi Phill, sorry it looks like if we’ve somehow missed you – if you contact [email protected], they can check to see what’s happened, and make sure you’re on the comms list for the future.
My wife will be delighted !
Let me explain. Like Andrew Howden I have taken Flyer since it started AND I have everyone filed in binders. I wonder how long it will take my wife to realise you have gone digital and we don’t have to keep them anymore.
Digital or otherwise I will still be there
Thanks for your support Andrew… make sure you keep those bound ones safe!
Hi Andrew
Ian here – we won’t tell her if you don’t.
Thanks for your support
Ian
I’m not a subscriber currently, but want to join the club and not just freeload the magazine. How?
Hello Graham. Thanks for your support, We will have the mechanism to sign up for The FLYER Club up and running on the website very soon. Could we email you when it is ready? Cheers!
Thanks – rather than post my mail address here, should I send a mail to [email protected]? If not can you reply here with a suitable one?
Thnx
Yes, please send to [email protected] and, as belt and braces, cc to me as well: [email protected]
I expect you are as disappointed as we are that this change has been forced on you but it is difficult to argue with the reasoning. I hope it goes well for the whole FLYER team.
Hi Richard, we don’t want to force anyone to accept anything they don’t want, hence why we’re offering FLYER free as a magazine for anyone to download.
We’re happy to refund anyone who prefers the print issue only, or doesn’t feel the The FLYER Club benefits like the Free Landings will offer them useful savings in the future.
Thanks for subscribing to FLYER, I hope you’ll continue to enjoy it via the Club or as the free download.
I have not had any email regarding this going to digital.
I am a paper copy subscriber for many years and would like to continue by being a Flyer club member.
It may we’ll be that you have an old email address for me.
Can you update my subscription to this email address?
Hi Marcus, please email to [email protected] and we’ll make sure that the right email is in place so that you continue receiving The FLYER Club benefits.
I have not received an email either.
Hi Kevin, please drop an email to [email protected] and we’ll make sure that the right email is in place for you.
I am currently a digital subscriber but find the magazine hard to read this way since it is formatted for print. It involves a lot of zooming in and out, and panning from the bottom of one column to the top of the next, because screens are not the same size and shape as paper. With the move to fully digital please could you consider a new format that would make it easier to access content? (For example see the US Flying magazine’s app.)
Hi Jon, thanks for the feedback – we want FLYER to be an enjoyable digital reading experience, so we’ll be sure to check that out.