XM Weather Price Increase

[mjc]

I received an email today from XM regarding my XM Weather service. The first line thanks me for being a subscriber. It all goes downhill from there. The email ends with "In support of our commitment to the continued growth and success of the XM WX aviation service, as of March 22, 2010, the XM WX Aviator LT and the XM WX Aviator packages will increase by $5 per month, effective upon your next renewal. "

There are three things about this that gall me. One is that at the "LT" level of service, the yearly cost of the increase is equivalent to two months' service. The second is that there is no corresponding increase in service. And finally, there is no competitor to which unhappy subscribers can flee.

 

[MooneyMitch]

I am sorry, but it appears that this falls under the category of "supply and demand"...................Capitalism at its finest!

[hansel]

That's one less Subway footlong per month!

Gotta love a monopoly-- the ugliness of the XM/Sirius merger is starting to emerge. Maybe someday Garmin will absorb both Aspen and Avidyne so we can really be screwed.

[Carl S]

Quote: mjc

I received an email today from XM regarding my XM Weather service. The first line thanks me for being a subscriber. It all goes downhill from there. The email ends with "In support of our commitment to the continued growth and success of the XM WX aviation service, as of March 22, 2010, the XM WX Aviator LT and the XM WX Aviator packages will increase by $5 per month, effective upon your next renewal. "

There are three things about this that gall me. One is that at the "LT" level of service, the yearly cost of the increase is equivalent to two months' service. The second is that there is no corresponding increase in service. And finally, there is no competitor to which unhappy subscribers can flee.

 

[Mooney65E]

It's great having onboard weather. I still think its a good deal...when it works. Trouble is, between Garmin and XM, one of them is always letting us down.  Hopefully someone else can give us an alternative technology in the future.

[crxcte]

I'm putting in a 430w and 330 transponder, to add xm is about another 4k in hardware plus the increasing monthly charge.   I only fly long trips 4-5 times per year so the cost is too much even for my 496.  I've thought about getting with others that have a handheld to share the cost.  Something like 2 people each with a 496 or 396, but one with xm.  Need to use the xm just ship it to the other person.  Anyone interested let me know.

[Jerry]

I wanted to have weather in my M20J for long trips but did not want to spend the money it would take to have it displayed on my 530. 

I have a Garmin 376 that I use in my boat and car and the weather package for it is still $29.99.  It gives the same information for the Fisherman Package as the Aviator LT package except for TFRs Metars and TAF.

On long trips, I just load the GPS coordinates of the Airports as waypoints and then prepare a route.  This gives me the weather pictorial for my flight and saved me the additional cost of aviation weather.

Also, land and water GPS units are significantly less than the 396 or 496 and if you already have IFR GPS units in your plane, its a good way to add weather only.

 

Jerry

[Amelia]

I, for one, have found my XM lite subscription to be a real boon, and since I'm paying more for groceries, for property taxes, for Avgas, and almost everything else, I suppose I can suck it up and pay another 5 bucks to keep me out of ugly weather and to see what's ahead, and where the best alternates are - NOW-, as opposed to before I left home four hours ago. I did choke at adding Garmin's XM upgrade to the 530.  My old AnywhereMap does a fine job at a fraction of the price brand G wants, and I'm content with that.

[M016576]

Garmin and XM radio... the crack dealers of aviation....  They got me hooked with their instant weather TAF's on my 396, now the screws are a turnin'!  I only wish I could take the 396 in the hornet with me... (sigh)... guess I'll have to continue using the Metro stations for my en-route wx needs in the F-18....

-Job

[scottfromiowa]

I saw some text about upgrades in Canada etc...and (nothing to enhance use for US users)...and we're increasing your costs by $60/year.  The hits just keep on coming...