Phil Boyer, AOPA's president since 1991, and his wife own a Cessna 172.
When the five original founders established AOPA in 1939 they had the vision to set forth some simple principles that have guided your association extremely well over the ensuing years. It was a simple premise to them, with World War II looming and threats to general aviation's use of the airspace predicted. Their original mandate was that the new association should keep flying safe, affordable, and fun for its pilot and owner members.
Those three words have served us well over the past six decades. The word affordable relates to both the direct and indirect costs of flying. AOPA consistently scores high on the indirect measurements. Your association has fought to keep fuel taxes low, user fees out of the air traffic system, weather and flight plan filing free through the flight service system or DUATS, airport landing fees to a minimum — the list goes on and on.
My personal challenge has been what to do about those very direct costs of flying: fuel, aircraft rental, flight instruction, maintenance, and the like. I remember coming to AOPA in the early 1990s with a mandate to come up with a fuel discount program for members. Staff members worked hard on this for more than a year, and harsh words were used against AOPA at a panel on fuel sales at the FBO industry's annual convention. After all the work and public criticism, the reality was that such a discount just wasn't possible, even with just one major oil company. And this didn't solve the problems of discounts on flight instruction, maintenance, or aircraft rentals.
Some five years later, AOPA turned to an affiliation it had maintained since the early 1980s with one of America's leading credit card companies, MBNA America Bank, to come up with a way to reduce the cost of flying across the broad spectrum of FBOs that AOPA members patronize. Almost a third of our membership carries the AOPA/MBNA credit card, so we figured that might be the avenue we had been seeking to help pilots save dollars.
In 1997 we rolled out the AOPA FBO Rebate Program, a plan that actually offered a rebate, or discount, on many of the direct costs of flying. It makes me proud that AOPA was the first aviation membership association to stop talking about these costs and actually do something about them.
For a little more than three years, members who used their AOPA MasterCard or Visa to purchase aviation products at an FBO could obtain a 3-percent rebate credited on their next statement. But the big news is that effective January 1 of this year the rebate was increased to 5 percent at "qualified" FBOs and flight schools. Aha — "qualified" must be the catch, you are probably thinking. Not so. The program is available at more than 4,000 of these businesses, and you'll find them with a rebate symbol in AOPA's Airport Directory, either in print or online. The test of a "qualified" FBO is easy: any business that sells aviation fuel and/or rents aircraft. The money going back into your pocket comes from the credit card company, MBNA, and not from AOPA member dues or the FBO. It's an honest reduction in the direct cost of your flying, and another first for AOPA members.
Claiming the 5-percent rebate is easy. When you get your AOPA credit card statement, simply circle the eligible charges and either mail or fax a copy to MBNA. The credit rebate shows up on your next statement.
Your purchases of up to $5,000 per year are eligible for the 5-percent credit rebate.
Let me repeat: that's any AOPA credit card purchase at a qualified FBO: fuel, rental, instruction, parts, charts, maintenance, rental cars, gadgets — you name it, and if the FBO sells or rents it, you can get the 5-percent credit rebate.
My wife and I spent $1,500 on our Cessna 172's annual inspection last year. The rebate brought the cost down by $45, or enough to pay for a couple hours of fuel for more flying.
Someone working on a private pilot certificate might spend about $4,000. The rebate of $200 would pay for that extra headset you can use for the passengers your certificate has earned you the right to carry.
Or, let's say you rent a typical four-place plane for $85, and you fly nine hours during a month. The rebate is $39, or coincidentally, the annual cost of your AOPA dues. And our membership dues have remained at a constant $39 since 1990 — so you do the math for rebates you might submit. In almost all cases they meet and exceed the annual cost of membership.
AOPA's FBO Rebate Program was designed for your personal or business flying (under FAR Part 91), not for large commercial operations. This is just one of many AOPA benefits that help to answer the long-burning question that has plagued private pilots for years: "Why doesn't somebody do something about the cost of flying?"
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