AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2019 - 12

AOPA ACTION

'Know Before You Go'
encourages fee transparency
Best practices making a difference in FBO pricing
FIXED BASE OPERATORS across the country are rushing
to get fees publicly posted online following the launch
of "Know Before You Go" best practices guidelines,
which call for fee transparency. The call to FBOs to make
prices easily accessible online was released by AOPA, the
Experimental Aircraft Association, the General Aviation
Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association
International, the National Air Transportation
Association, and National Business Aviation Association.
Although aviation fuel prices are largely available
online, many airport and FBO fees are not. AOPA has
investigated and is fighting egregious and often unknown
FBO fees restricting access to airports. AOPA found most
of the country's FBOs have reasonable fees and effectively
facilitate pilot access, but at the most-complained-about
locations-often those with a monopoly position FBO-
pricing practices often adversely affect access.
FBOs are encouraged to post fees on AOPA's airport directory (aopa.org/destinations), which is used
for flight planning by thousands of pilots every month.
AOPA is working with industry leaders to develop a simplified online template of fees and will host tutorials on
how to load and update fee data in the airport directory.
But FBO fee transparency is voluntary and new to
the industry, and pilots should expect some information
to be incorrect or incomplete as FBOs, electronic flight

bags, and other aviation businesses adopt the "Know Before
You Go" best practices.
Duncan Aviation posted its
BAKER ON THE NEWS
fees online in an "FBO Services
"We are seeing great response to the
Calculator." Troy Hyberger, FBO
'Know Before You Go' best practices,
services manager for Duncan
and we applaud industry leaders for
Aviation's Lincoln, Nebraska,
making sure pilots can easily find
location, said, "We agree that
what they should expect to pay for
transparency in pricing is
various services. These leaders serve
important in FBO services."We
as examples for the rest of the indushave listed our fuel prices and
try as we work to make sure all FBOs
potential ramp fees on the interat public-use airports make their fees
net for some time. This app
available online."
takes that even further by allow-AOPA President Mark Baker
ing operators to calculate their
exact invoice."
Wisconsin Aviation President and CEO Jeff Baum said, "AOPA certainly
recognizes free enterprise's right to set its own prices and that the aviation businesses have a right and need to earn profit. However, when the prices charged
deter people from using publicly funded airports-and especially when these
fees come as a surprise-something needs to be done."
The largest FBO provider in the world, Signature Flight Support, has posted
fees for piston aircraft at most locations, and the company has told AOPA it is
working to make jet and turboprop fees available online soon.
aopa.org/fbopricing

ACTION IN THE STATES
GA STORIES SPOTLIGHTED IN
MASSACHUSETTS ECONOMIC STUDY
Economic growth of the 39 airports of the
Massachusetts public-use airport system
and the three Boston-area airports run by
the Massachusetts Port Authority has had
"a very positive impact" on surrounding
communities in the past five years, according to a new economic impact report.
12 | AOPA PILOT June 2019

BILL WOULD LIFT NEW HAVEN
RUNWAY LENGTH RESTRICTION
AOPA is urging its 3,300 members in
Connecticut to show state lawmakers
they support a bill to enhance safety and
services at Tweed-New Haven Airport by
lifting a legislated length limit of the airport's main runway.

MORE AVIATION FUNDING
APPROVED IN NORTH DAKOTA
A bill to provide $20 million from oil
revenue for airport improvements in North
Dakota as part of a $100 million infrastructure appropriation has been signed into
law by Gov. Doug Burgum (R).
aopa.org/advocacy/state-advocacy
http://www.aopa.org/destinations https://www.aopa.org/advocacy/airports-and-airspace/airport-advocacy/egregious-fbo-pricing https://www.aopa.org/advocacy/state-advocacy
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2019
