Membership fee's

[XL319]

Are flying clubs right to charge membership and joining fee's in addition to flying charge right to charge such fee's?

Discuss?

[Mike Cross]

Are you right to assume Flying Clubs charge flying fees? Mine is not a training organisation and does not operate any aircraft. It charges around 100 quid a year which includes all landings. If I paid 5 quid a landing it would cost me far more.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

They can charge whatever they like for whatever they like. Just as you or I can charge our customers whatever we like for whatever we like.

Of course there comes a point where a business runs out of customers ... but if a business isn't running out of customers it isn't overcharging, is it.

[Rod1]

The term “flying clubs” is used for a variety of completely different organizations. At one extreme you have a school based a regional airport who just hires aircraft. You can have a Club which runes the airfield it is based on and runs all the facilities. A third option is a shed on an unlicensed strip with a group of like minded people who share the cost of the shed and the coffee fund.

My club falls into the middle group, charges quite a stiff fee, but then everything else is very cheap, or free.

Rod1

[englishal]

Many "clubs" charge an annual fee of £80 - £150. This often gives full use of the airfield even when flying you own aeroplane of in someone elses when you are a PAX. This is good value for money, rather than pay £10 per landing, you can come and go as you please all year.

If I didn't get that then I wouldn't join.....

[tacpot]

Yes, they are right to do this. The operations of the flying club in any form is likely to have some fixed overheads that have to be defrayed across the entire membership. If you want a clubhouse, an internet connection, a coffee machine, a place to keep stuff, etc. It all has to be paid for whether or not anyone flies.

Whether or not a 'joining' fee is justified, is down to the club. Many organisations run on such tight profit margins that even the administration of a new joining member has to be charged for. However, I would regard any joining fee above £5 as excessive, unless the joining process delivers some exceptional value, e.g. a checkout on the club aircraft.

tp

[XL319]

Totally agree Tacpot. Was nice to see replies from all the flying clubs then :ok: ...Joining fee imo is another way to screw money out of you

[BEagle]

No it isn't - it's a way of deterring time wasters.

Taking a reasonable sum off new members and charging them a monthly subscription also encourages them to take advantage of the low rental costs which can then be offered. Total cost to them actually breaks even if they do 6 hours per year compared with costs incurred at places where the subscriptions are lower, but the rental costs higher.

'Flying schools' don't have many rich owners or shareholders, of that you can be sure!

['Chuffer' Dandridge]

Anyone joined a golf club recently? It's a hell of a lot more wonga just to take a stick on a nice walk around the countryside....:rolleyes:

[Jerico]

I think tacpot has got it about right. A non profit making Club, who has a clubhouse etc needs to cover those costs. I think if the organisation is profit making then it is not really a club.
The Club I am involved in, used to have a joining fee and a minimum flight time requirements and we got rid of those some years ago and it has turned out to be to the benefit of the Club, so I have doubts about joining fees as being a fair charge.

Membership Fees are a fair way of distributing those fixed costs involved in providing facilities. If we didn't charge in this way, the flying rate would have to go up and we all know how people feel about that!