While ramp transparency improves, some FBO fees still frustrate pilots
Rumblings within the general aviation community over ramp fees seem to have intensified, no doubt driven in part by expensive tabs at airports serving traffic for major events from Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, to the Super Bowl in New Orleans on February 9. While high-profile happenings make headlines, though, it is the unexpected premiums added during long holiday weekends and lesser-known meetings, conventions, and festivals that tend to irritate pilots most.
Pilots routinely contact AOPA regarding a range of airport fees that they find excessive or even egregious. FBOs often assess charges for parking, tiedowns, handling, security, facilities, and more, some of which may be waived with the purchase of fuel. Many aircraft owners and pilots report being charged for services they did not request and during events of which they were not aware. Historically these charges tended to occur when a large chain FBO had a monopoly position on the field.
Last year, Signature Aviation, which operates more than 200 FBOs worldwide, took a positive step forward in responding to AOPA’s call for fair and reasonable fees by lowering and standardizing its handling charges for piston aircraft at nearly all of its locations. The changes reflect Signature’s recognition of the importance and value of piston operators and the fact that Part 91 pilots cannot pass expenses on to their passengers the way for-hire carriers can. Moreover, Signature also does not impose special event fees on piston operators, something other FBO operators and public-use airport authorities should do.
Despite these positive steps by Signature, AOPA members continue to report frustration with some FBOs and airports that raise fees for federal holidays and long weekends or during trade shows and conventions, which can be burdensome for GA flights that are “just passing through.”
AOPA advocates before airport sponsors to establish reasonable rates and ensure that fee charged to airport users are fair, justified, and established in a transparent manner.
Stuart Phillips, an AOPA member who flies a Daher TBM, recalled a trip to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport / Sardy Field that incurred a $598 charge because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He said the Atlantic Aviation FBO also charged a $25 habitat fee and a $150 security fee but waived the $365 ramp fee with his fuel purchase. For skiers, of course, the King holiday as well as Presidents Day are desirable long weekends.
Dan Streufert, a Phoenix-based AOPA member who regularly flies to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas when visiting family members, said unexpected fees crop up often. “They come up with a ‘special event’ for anything they possibly can, but I am never going there for whatever event is happening,” he said.
While almost anyone would expect events like last November’s Formula 1 race and the Consumer Electronics Show in January to draw huge crowds and generate extra service and handling charges for private aircraft, there are lesser-known events that come to town and catch pilots off guard. Streufert noted the Total Product Expo for independent convenience retailers and World of Concrete, a trade show for the concrete and masonry construction industries, which do not crowd airport ramps to the same degree.
Another potential surprise for transient pilots is the premium often charged for small turbine singles, compared with their piston counterparts. Streufert, who upgraded to a Piper M600 after previously flying a PA–24-260 Comanche, recalled a recent occasion when an FBO charged a $419 ramp fee for his turboprop when the piston fee was $45.
If AOPA members experience fees they consider excessive, please let us know by contacting either the AOPA Pilot Information Center (800-872-2672) or your AOPA regional manager.
