Seattle Avionics

It definitely seems that pi$$ing off a significant portion of the existing user base is not the most brilliant marketing strategy. But I wonder…

Anyone have any idea the relative percentages of FlyQ users who subscribe annually vs those who bought the “lifetime” package?
All I recall is Steve being open that it was a small number of lifetime available and they sold quickly.
 
this is hilarious... i just sent an email to SA because a feature they advertised 'Document Library ' simply doesn't work... and they admitted it doesn't work and they then said 'maybe it will get fixed'.

My reply was 'maybe I'll renew'.

FlyQ is is meh. It's basically the Temu version of ForeFlight.

I hate being locked into an iPad I have no other use for, and iPads are trash to begin with.
 
The he documents library has been broken since day one
 
I hate being locked into an iPad I have no other use for, and iPads are trash to begin with.
Different strokes. Since retirement, my iPad has replaced my laptop when I travel and my desktop when I'm not sitting at my desk. It's my music station for dinner parties. Heck, with the Pencil and a handwriting app, it's become my personal Journal and, with a Bluetooth keyboard I can even write my articles on it.

I might be an Apple fanboy, but since I've never owned a Mac and you'll have to pry my Android phone from my cold dead hands, I kinda doubt it ;)
 
Thought experiment. If Apple never invented the iPad and Foreflight or Garmin or some other aviation company came out with the exact same product, hand held navigation device, that can also run apps, would all the Apple haters think it was bad?
 
If Mercedes Benz didn't invent the automobile and Chevy came along and offered the exact same product I would give up on my trusted Chevy because it was bad. It would be bad because of proprietary design and overpriced compared to say Ford or even dare I say it, Chrysler.

When my SL600 had a rock chip on the glass in front of the headlight, I went to the dealer to buy a replacement glass; the headlight worked fine and the glass was removable. The dealer wouldn't sell just the glass and quoted $1,800 for the headlight back around 2005. That was enough for me to decide to sell the car and buy a different brand automobile.
 
Thought experiment. If Apple never invented the iPad and Foreflight or Garmin or some other aviation company came out with the exact same product, hand held navigation device, that can also run apps, would all the Apple haters think it was bad?

If it were indeed the "exact same product," meaning it was not designed for the cockpit environment and it had too dim a display and it overheated, then yeah, I'd hate it.
 
I hate being locked into an iPad I have no other use for, and iPads are trash to begin with.
That's your choice. I got the iPad for Foreflight. It still works well after 9-10 years with good battery life. ForeFlight still runs well, and I use it on my trips to see what I'm looking at on the ground. I also use it for movies on domestic flights, e-books, music player, e-mail reader. Not too shabby for "trash".
 
They offered these "lifetime" subscriptions at a critical time for the company. Steve desperately needed (1) customers as the AOPA deal fell apart (everyone remember that back in July 2014?); and (2) cash. They were competing against Garmin and Foreflight, they had already made a pretty significant investment in the product, the risk of failure was high with no APOA support, and they didn't want to lose what they had invested. They knew quite well Garmin and Foreflight could easily put them out of business, but felt they could offer a slightly cheaper product and win. For those customers that would make the investment and commitment to keep using, he was willing to offer the product for many years. Customers held up there end of the deal, but appears SA is deciding they no longer need to hold up their end.

As I read the announcement, part of their justification for this change is to "add new features" One such feature is to have more than one cycle of charts in the app at a time. Let's see....FF and GP have had this capability for how long? Garmin Connext - both FF and GP support this but not FlyQ. FltPlan Go had Connext support before Garmin bought them and their app remains free, but no such deal with FlyQ. I use FlyQ and it crashes more than any other flight app I use. Oh, and they want more money to address these issues too. Hmm.... charge your customers for poorly tested and implemented code as you had to rush versions to compete?

The license terms from prior versions have been saved and I'm not sure there is support for what they are doing. I'll be curious how Steve P and others spin this @ EAA this week. They could recant off this, but I doubt they will. It's going to take the user community to go after them to get them to change. Their reputation has clearly been damaged by this which is more of a problem than trying to squeeze more revenue from lifetime customers. The integration between FF and GP is game-changing stuff, and FlyQ always has been late or never invited to that party, so I think their future is cloudy for the FlyQ product for new customers.

Private equity is in control now and we all know their business model - raise revenue while cutting expenses so they can flip. I would certainly join any group to go after them to make them honor their commitment.
 
Well, here's the solution. iFly has a buyout promo going during Osh where if you switch to an iFly subscription from a competitor, they'll tack on any remaining time on that competitor's subscription.

Any remaining time from a qualified competitor EFB can be credited to your new iFly EFB subscription!
For example, if you have 4 months remaining on your current EFB subscription, upon purchase of iFly EFB we will add 4 additional months to the end of your subscription.


Seems like that should get you a lifetime subscription for iFly! :biggrin:
 
Well, here's the solution. iFly has a buyout promo going during Osh where if you switch to an iFly subscription from a competitor, they'll tack on any remaining time on that competitor's subscription.

Any remaining time from a qualified competitor EFB can be credited to your new iFly EFB subscription!
For example, if you have 4 months remaining on your current EFB subscription, upon purchase of iFly EFB we will add 4 additional months to the end of your subscription.


Seems like that should get you a lifetime subscription for iFly! :biggrin:
lol you’re why the marketing department has to hire lawyers.
 
So has anyone stopped by the SA booth at Osh?

Yes - they registered my complaint in a notebook that was filling with similar feedback. They asked for any specific words to pass on to management, and wrote them down. Also asked if there was anything that would satisfy me, such as a lifetime 25% discount going forward. I rejected that, saying keeping their word was the only thing they should do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Interesting article. Similar vein with t mobile reneging on a lifetime deal


Hmmmm..... IANAL, but I wonder whether a better approach would be a couple of hundred lifetime subscribers all filing seperately in a variety of small claims courts. Defending oneself against a swarm of hornets might prove more difficult than defending against one single bear.

Oh well - I have no dog in the fight. I'm just an amused spectator. :popcorn:
 
Sent them an email today, letting them know that I will be passing on my opinions and experiences with FlyQ and Seattle Avionics to many, many pilots.
And if the decision doesn't get reversed that this T-shirt may be making the rounds.

1721926075141.png
 
Hmmmm..... IANAL, but I wonder whether a better approach would be a couple of hundred lifetime subscribers all filing seperately in a variety of small claims courts. Defending oneself against a swarm of hornets might prove more difficult than defending against one single bear.
Good question. Hard to tell with what is likely a pretty limited class. Just the procedural differences between small claims and real court typically make class action defense far more expensive than a swarm of small claims. Related question is whether the class is large enough for a competent class action attorney to be interested.
 
Just got a new email advertisement from iFlightPlanner. Read the first line. :devil: :biggrin: :happydance::rofl::rofl::cheerswine:





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iFlightPlanner

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I received that too. The other companies are going to try to capitalize on it.

I will give my money to someone to someone other than SA. I just can't see continuing to do business with a company that fails to keep it's promise.

My thoughts are it is not garnering enough new users to stay viable and had to resort to getting revenue from the established users. It's a really bad business decision but one they may not care about.

In my business it's your word that keeps your customers loyal.
 
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