Membership Services
AOPA call center has experts in house
These days, when you call an 800 number for assistance, you might very well find your call being answered halfway around the world. Not when you call AOPA.
“Members are often surprised that AOPA not only has headquarters staff, but expert pilots on the other end of the line when you call,” said Toni Mensching, an aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center. “Normally, in one simple call our members get solutions from the first person they speak with.”
If Toni answers the phone when you call, you’ll not only have the resources of AOPA at your disposal, but also her personal experience as a former first officer for US Airways, pilot recruiter for FedEx, and flight instructor for a Part 141 university. In addition to her more than 2,500 hours of flight time, Toni brings firsthand experience to answer members’ questions about aviation careers, aircraft ownership, the best ways to navigate the IFR system, and even how to refurbish an aircraft.
You’ll also get someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to help, as she did when an AOPA member called on the day of his private pilot checkride.
“He had his examiner on the line with him. The examiner wouldn’t conduct the checkride because he thought the student didn’t have enough cross-country time to be eligible,” Toni explained. “Together we discovered that because he had flown to an off-airport VOR before going to the first airport on a recent cross-country flight, he did qualify to take the checkride and the examiner agreed to conduct it. If the member had never called, he would have had to reschedule the checkride and do another cross-country flight. He was very thankful.”
Toni says she loves to be part of a team that’s so passionate about aviation, and she hopes all members will take advantage of AOPA’s in-house experts.
“If you call us once, you’ll definitely call again,” Toni said. “We can help with so many different questions that no one should ever hesitate to ask AOPA.”
May 28, 2008
