# Airplane game > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Airplane_game > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Airplane_game.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane_game > Source revision: 1345775779 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article is about the pyramid scheme. For video games featuring airplanes, see [Flight simulation video game](/source/Flight_simulation_video_game). The **airplane game**, also known as the **plane game**, is a style of [pyramid scheme](/source/Pyramid_scheme) first recorded in the 1980s in North America and later Western Europe. The common version of the system involved joining an "airplane" by paying a "pilot" to become one of eight "passengers".[1][2] Already on the airplane were four "flight attendants" who were a step ahead, and two "co-pilots" next in line behind the pilot, thus the new passenger is fourth in the hierarchy. Once a pilot collected $12,000 from passengers to retire, the group split into two "airplanes", with each co-pilot becoming the pilot of the new airplane, taking half the participants and promoting everyone a level. Bringing in new passengers sped up everyone's progression towards retiring as a pilot.[1] However, the structure of the scheme results in a participant losing the entire payment unless 14 new participants join.[2] The scheme had spread from [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) to [Texas](/source/Texas) to [California](/source/California) to [South Florida](/source/South_Florida) by early 1987,[2] with police raiding meetings in all four states,[3][1][2][4] and reports of more airplane schemes operating in [Dallas](/source/Dallas).[4] In [Miami-Dade County, Florida](/source/Miami-Dade_County,_Florida), at least one recruiting session was reported with 1,000 attendees.[2] Though common versions at the time required passengers to pay $1,500 to receive $12,000 as a pilot,[1][2][4] some airplanes were being run with $5,000 passengers and a $40,000 pilot payout.[2] ## Other names The scheme has also gone by the names **Concorde** and **Golden Galaxy** with similar names for the steps. **Cash Club, Victoria** operated in the same way but with different amounts and the steps were renamed to "club member", "committee member", "vice-president", and "president". "Krona Klub" was a similar scheme with more complex payout rules, as was a so-called game variously called "Cosmic Adventure", "Flying Saucer", or "Flying Starship".[5] The scheme resurfaced in 2020, conducted over [Instagram](/source/Instagram) and other social media platforms, going by a variety of names including **Blessing Loom**[6] and **Loom Game**.[7] In 2022, after receiving several complaints from the public, South Africa's [Financial Sector Conduct Authority](/source/Financial_Sector_Conduct_Authority_(South_Africa)) released an official warning to the public regarding **The Prosperity Grid**, saying that although it resembled a traditional *[stokvel](/source/Stokvel)* savings scheme, they considered its structure to be a pyramid scheme.[8] Because pyramid schemes fall outside of the jurisdiction of the FSCA, the matter has been referred to other relevant regulators and authorities. ## References 1. Neuffer, Elizabeth (April 7, 1987). ["'Airplane': High-Stakes Chain Letter"](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/nyregion/airplane-high-stakes-chain-letter.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. National ed. p. B7. Retrieved 2018-04-10. 1. Enscoe, David (March 26, 1987). ["Pyramid Scheme Takes Off Thousands Invest In 'Plane Game'"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170719055557/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-03-26/news/8701190859_1_pyramid-game-pilot-passengers). *[Sun-Sentinel](/source/Sun-Sentinel)*. Archived from [the original](http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-03-26/news/8701190859_1_pyramid-game-pilot-passengers) on 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-04-10. Published in print edition as "'Plane Game' taking many for a big ride". 1. ["Pyramid Scheme Grounded"](https://www.flickr.com/photos/stall/46233297561). *[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle)*. October 31, 1986. 1. ["Police Clip Wings of 'Airplane Game' : Arrest Four Alleged Promoters of Version of Pyramid Scheme"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-19-mn-14141-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. online ed. March 19, 1987. Retrieved 2018-04-10. 1. Branscum, Bill E. (2002). ["Pyramid Scheme: Real Scams for Your Study and Review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180410135814/http://www.fraudsandscams.com/examples). *FraudsAndScams.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.fraudsandscams.com/examples) on April 10, 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-10. 1. ["Prosper DJ and wife accused of scamming Black people nationwide out of 'tens of millions' in 'blessing loom' pyramid scheme"](https://www.dallasnews.com/business/banking/2021/06/17/prosper-dj-and-wife-accused-of-scamming-tens-of-millions-off-blacks-nationwide-in-blessing-loom-pyramid-scheme/). *Dallas News*. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021. 1. Toromade, Samson (2019-05-08). ["Nigerians welcome Loom, another Ponzi scheme, with open arms"](https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/loom-money-nigeria-nigerians-welcome-new-ponzi-scheme/cw6ng2q). *[Pulse Nigeria](/source/Pulse_Nigeria)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210827023536/https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/loom-money-nigeria-nigerians-welcome-new-ponzi-scheme/cw6ng2q) 2021-08-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-08-26. 1. ["FSCA issues public warning against The Prosperity Grid"](https://www.fsca.co.za/News%20Documents/FSCA%20Press%20Release%20-%20%20Public%20warning%20against%20The%20Prosperity%20Grid%2014%20June%202022.pdf). FSCA. Retrieved 1 July 2023. ## External links - Linda Rosewood Hooper. ["The Pyramid Game: It's a Lie, It's a Scam, and It Won't Work"](https://people.ucsc.edu/~rosewood/writing/essays/pyramidgames.htm) (personal website). *Linda Rosewood Hooper: Writings*. [Santa Cruz, California](/source/Santa_Cruz,_California): [University of California, Santa Cruz](/source/University_of_California,_Santa_Cruz). Retrieved 2017-04-10. Originally written in Spring 1993. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Airplane game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane_game) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane_game?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.