'Aero Club' Opens San Diego Base

Fractional ownership club iFly tells ANN it is celebrating its first birthday by adding a new base at Gibbs Flying Service at San Diego's Montgomery Field (MYF).

"iFly is one year old and to celebrate we're expanding to San Diego," said iFly Co-Founder Erik Lindbergh (above). "We have had very strong response from the San Diego area and our base in nearby Carlsbad has been one of our most popular. This is an exciting move for iFly and will increase our footprint for Southern California pilots."

As ANN reported, iFly launched operations last September, offering access to a managed fleet of Columbia 350s based at six Southern California airports, for what the company states is less than half the cost of sole ownership. Company officials report strong interest in iFly's service and overwhelmingly positive feedback from iFly's initial members.

"Our members have their plane and fly it too," said iFly CEO Andrew DeMond. "They fly today's premiere personal aircraft without having to concern themselves with the mundane and time consuming chores and considerable costs that accompany traditional aircraft ownership. We've had exceptional reports from our members about their experiences and look forward to adding many more now in San Diego."

iFly members will fly out of Gibbs Flying Service, the heart of general aviation at MYF. iFly's Launch Open House at MYF will be held Friday September 28 from 2-6pm, and Saturday, September 29 from 10am-4pm.

FMI: www.iflysmarter.com