Growing Despite The Economy... Or Because Of?

This week, the Aircraft Partnership Association announced it recently posted its 2,500th member profile on the official website. Over 1,000 new members have joined since December.

"While the economy is having a dramatic adverse affect on aircraft sales, many aviators are beginning to actively pursue forming private partnerships now that a viable mechanism exists to facilitate the process," reads an APA statement.

The Aircraft Partnership Association uses web-based programs to match partnership preferences that include aircraft type, budget, airport, flying experience and more. The APA encourages pilots to post their secure profiles on-line for free in an endeavor to match like-minded aviators who want to share the cost of owning/operating an aircraft through private partnerships.

"We've seen APA memberships begin to spike as the economy slows," said APA President David A. Kruger. "People who are passionate about aviation aren't willing to just stop flying. What they are doing is actively looking for new ways to reduce the cost of flying so aviation can stay a part of their lifestyle longer. "For some pilots, that may mean purchasing a used aircraft instead of a new one. Some current aircraft owners may want to find partners to help share to cost of ownership rather than succumb to the financial pressure to get out of flying altogether.

"The beauty of APA is that uses technology to intelligently form partnerships that work for new, used or currently owned aircraft anywhere," Kruger added. "And better still -- individual memberships are free!"

Members are encouraged to post their partnership profile on a secure database called the Virtual Pilot Lounge at the FMI link below.  Once members complete their partnership profile, they can begin to search the database for suitable partners using a variety of parameters including aircraft type, budget, proximity from home or airport and much more. Members can even choose to receive e-mail alerts when a new partner joins in their area.

Kruger stresses the searchable database is free, and member information remains strictly confidential and is never used for marketing purposes without permission.

"The idea of reducing the cost of flying by sharing the cost ownership has always been a great idea, it was just never going to happen by posting a flyer on the FBO bulletin board," Kruger concluded. "Today, using a web-based technology as the conduit to connect the partnership dots, more pilots will be able to realize the dream of aircraft ownership and more aircraft owners will be able to keep their planes as an integral part of their lifestyle or business rather than letting it become a hangar-queen."

FMI: www.theapa.com