Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
I just received my AOPA Pilot yesterday for December. I always enjoy this magazine, and it's one of the real benefits of membership in AOPA.
As I sifted it from my pile of junk mail, I was struck by how light it was. The magazine is usually much thicker and heavier, especially in the Christmas edition. Having spent over twenty years working the business-side of newspapers (getting out in 2002 -- good timing!), I know how all-important advertising is to any periodical -- so I started flipping through the pages.
A cursory glance showed several AOPA ads -- no less than four full-page ads, advertising themselves. That's called "filler", and (in the newspaper world, anyway) is usually a sign that someone bailed out at the last minute. Full-page ads are very expensive, so you don't run them unless you've got a good reason.
The second thing I noticed was what was missing. For the first time in my memory, NONE of the big aircraft manufacturers were advertising. Well, okay, Cessna had one ad, but it was promoting the Special Olympics, so they were probably committed to that one long ago. Otherwise, no Beech, no Cessna, no Piper, and -- most surprisingly -- no Cirrus advertising.
Not only is this disastrous for AOPA's budget, it's a truly scary sign of the times. The last thing a healthy company eliminates is advertising, simply because those ads represent a faith in future sales. When ALL of the aircraft manufacturers have cut back to this level, the future of GA is clearly threatened.
What's it going to take to bring aircraft sales around? Without new airplanes -- and companies to build spare parts for our old ones -- GA can only soldier on for so long. I guess the question is: Which of the big aircraft manufacturers will survive "The Great Recession"?
As I sifted it from my pile of junk mail, I was struck by how light it was. The magazine is usually much thicker and heavier, especially in the Christmas edition. Having spent over twenty years working the business-side of newspapers (getting out in 2002 -- good timing!), I know how all-important advertising is to any periodical -- so I started flipping through the pages.
A cursory glance showed several AOPA ads -- no less than four full-page ads, advertising themselves. That's called "filler", and (in the newspaper world, anyway) is usually a sign that someone bailed out at the last minute. Full-page ads are very expensive, so you don't run them unless you've got a good reason.
The second thing I noticed was what was missing. For the first time in my memory, NONE of the big aircraft manufacturers were advertising. Well, okay, Cessna had one ad, but it was promoting the Special Olympics, so they were probably committed to that one long ago. Otherwise, no Beech, no Cessna, no Piper, and -- most surprisingly -- no Cirrus advertising.
Not only is this disastrous for AOPA's budget, it's a truly scary sign of the times. The last thing a healthy company eliminates is advertising, simply because those ads represent a faith in future sales. When ALL of the aircraft manufacturers have cut back to this level, the future of GA is clearly threatened.
What's it going to take to bring aircraft sales around? Without new airplanes -- and companies to build spare parts for our old ones -- GA can only soldier on for so long. I guess the question is: Which of the big aircraft manufacturers will survive "The Great Recession"?
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