AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018 - 16

LETTERS

WAYPOINTS

Helping FBOs understand
the 'R' word

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
Editor in Chief

Why lack of transparency for fees is indefensible

Editor in Chief

TOM HAINES has

flown general aviation airplanes into
airports large and
small all across
the country, and in
many parts of the
world.

RECENTLY I WROTE ABOUT RISKS in aviation and how
what might seem like a reasonable risk to one person seems completely unreasonable to another (see
"Waypoints: What's the Risk?" March AOPA Pilot).
The question of "reasonableness" has surfaced in
another area of aviation: fees charged to pilots who
want to access the ramps of public-use airports across
the country.
AOPA has written extensively about the charging of
egregious fees by FBOs at 40 to 50 important airports.
The most challenging locations are those where an FBO
holds a monopoly position on the airport, often with
a decades-long lease for all available ramp space and
often many or all hangars as well. Reminds me of the
old days when mining towns existed. The mining company controlled all the jobs, housing, food supply, and
other necessities for the employees, with predictably
low wages and high prices.
One significant difference is that the mining company owned the property where it operated. FBOs,
typically, are built on property that was bought with
federal Airport Improvement Program funds supplied
by the public and through fuel taxes paid by pilots. In
addition, the ramps that monopoly FBOs control are
typically built with those same AIP funds. When an airport agrees to accept those funds, it agrees to certain
stipulations, one of which is that it ensure that the pricing practices of FBOs and other on-airport businesses
are "reasonable and applied in a non-unjustly discriminatory manner." There's that "R" word again.
The pricing practices of some of these monopoly FBO locations have generated more than 1,000
complaints from AOPA members. If you've had a bad
experience, report it to us online (www.aopa.org/
fbofees). Reports of $200 and $300 simply to drop off a
passenger-sometimes without even shutting the engine
down-are not uncommon. In some locations, one can
avoid paying the high fees by buying a certain volume
of fuel. However, at these locations the fuel prices tend
to be excessive, often $1 to $3 a gallon more than other
airports in the region.
The logical question is, why not go to those other
locations-let the "free market" work? Our response is
that pilots should not have to forego the convenience
of the publicly funded airport of their choosing just

because an FBO has managed to lock up all of the available access. These FBOs' monopoly positions eliminate
any pretense of a free market, especially when they
refuse to publish their fees-more on that in a moment.
Airports are not like gas stations, restaurants, or hotels-
all of which are privately funded and relatively easily
built. Airports are publicly funded and require massive
chunks of land. Such large areas of land are frequently
no longer available near desirable locations, so an airport can't be easily replicated. In addition, airports are
part of a larger national aviation transportation system.
High fees inhibit a community's access to that system.
Adding to the frustration is the lack of transparency
regarding the fees. Fuel pricing information these days
is usually available online and through apps, although
at these sorts of locations, many volume buyers are able
to purchase fuel for less than the posted prices. Those
of us buying smaller amounts must suck it up and pay
the list price. However, in most cases, the cost of FBO
ramp fees, infrastructure fees, security fees, and a host
of others-many simply made up as a way to extract
more money from pilots-are not posted anywhere. The
FBOs say the solution is to call the individual location, as
if in the twenty-first century that is somehow a reasonable request. What other product or service you utilize
must you call ahead to find out what it might cost for you
to show up at the business's location? The reason they
want you to call is that they have a complex matrix of
fees based on the size of your aircraft, the value of your
aircraft, and the amount of over-priced fuel you might
purchase. As one observer pointed out, it's as if the prices
you pay at Walmart depend on whether you drive up in a
Chevy or a Mercedes.
So in an effort to help you avoid having to make all
those individual phone calls, AOPA has been attempting to make them for you, and to publish what we find
as part of our online airport directory. Contacting more
than 3,000 FBOs on a regular basis for such information
would be difficult enough, but the task is further complicated by the lack of cooperation from some FBOs and
by the complexity of their fees structures. Some of the
FBOs, usually part of a chain, refuse to provide the fees
for publication. Their excuse is that the fees are complicated and variable. Or, in some cases, because the chain's
headquarters has simply told the individual locations

24 | AOPA PILOT May 2018

Ron Yancey
AOPA 321281
San Pablo, California

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 25

negotiate the amount of fuel I
must buy to waive fees down
from their list. No exceptions for "safety of flight." I
have had them waive the fees
altogether on a whim. Those
who remained silent just got
soaked.
I've even heard much-lessused FBOs say they charge a fee
because others do.
I know the lights don't stay
on for nothing. I also know
most pilots don't mind paying a
nominal fee when they receive
something of value for it.
Thank you and AOPA for
keeping this issue alive.
Chip Dunn
AOPA 589597
Forsyth, Georgia

HANGAR TALK

Thank you for a fine article. It explained the
situation very well. It also reminded me of a
cartoon I once saw in a magazine. A couple
stood at a theater box office which had a sign
posted stating "Popular Prices." The gentleman had apparently asked about that because
the cashier replied, "Well, we like them!"

Thanks for the very informative
article. Thomas B. Haines made
it very clear why AOPA was
challenging specific FBOs. I am
appreciative of AOPA's actions.
Marty Rollinger
AOPA 4737613
Granger, Illinois

Memories

Mike Collins' article on the Lark
Commander got my immediate attention ("Briefing: Lark
Commander"). The Volarie, as
he correctly wrote, was the original aircraft. It was designed
and built by Jack Gilberti of
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. In
his spare time initially, as his
day job was chief engineer
for Taylorcraft of Conway,

Pennsylvania, during the 1950s.
In my early teens at the
time, I met Mr. Gilberti often,
at his airstrip home or the
Taylorcraft factory, and flew
with him as a backseat passenger
in a Fiberglas-covered T-craft
returning from a demonstration at Fort Rucker, Alabama. I
remember liking him as a person,
but even wondering then why he
was so involved in designing two
(competing) airplanes.
The reason for me knowing
Mr. Gilberti was my dad, Ben
Mauro, owned the Taylorcraft
company during the 1950s.
My reminiscing on all things
aviation has come into sharper
focus as I obtained my private

Maybe it's the sheer size of Alaska-663,268 square
miles-or its rise from sea level to Denali's peak, at
20,310 feet the tallest mountain in North America.
Regardless, the forty-ninth state is home to the most
diverse general aviation flying in the nation. Bush
flying and lots of floatplanes get hunters, fishermen,
and off-the-grid residents to myriad destinations in
the interior. The skilled aviators who land climbers,
rangers, and sightseers on glaciers get less attention. Technical Editor MIKE COLLINS spent
time last year with several pilots at K2 Aviation (see "LANDING UPHILL, ON ICE," p. 70). "Weather
is paramount on the mountain," he said. "We waited several hours for conditions to improve
before flying climbers to base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier. Then, after landing, it looked like
fog was rolling in, and we prepared for a quick departure. Fortunately it was not, and we could
enjoy the beauty and solitude of the glacier for a few minutes before returning to Talkeetna."

16 | AOPA PILOT July 2018

pilot certificate three years ago
at 72. I have had a passion for
aviation since my first ride at 8
months of age but life took me,
as others, in different directions.
Now I am having a great time,
connecting with aviation folks
from past and present years,
as well as taking floatplane
and mountain flying lessons,
and obtaining complex, high
performance, and tailwheel
endorsements.
So good to know the Lark
Commanders are still flying
and still highly appreciated. Mr.
Gilberti was a good man and he
would be proud of his design
and its heritage.
Jim Mauro
AOPA 6844913
Savannah, Georgia

Errata

May 2018 "Test Pilot" incorrectly
stated that all civilian aircraft in
the United States were grounded
in the days following September
11, 2001, and that the only civilian aircraft to make a flight
September 13, 2001, was carrying the Rev. Billy Graham to
Washington, D.C. We have since
learned of several civilian flights
in that time frame: a Civil Air
Patrol crew on September 12, and
public benefit flying missions and
charter flights on September 13.
In "Pilot Briefing: LittleKnown Aviation History," May
2018 AOPA Pilot, we incorrectly stated that Boeing is still
headquartered in Seattle. The
Boeing Co. began operations at
its world headquarters building
in Chicago, Illinois, in 2001.
AOPA Pilot regrets the errors.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org). Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018