President's Position: Flight for independence

Of course, most of my flights don’t end on a pristine lake in the backcountry. Like all pilots, when I travel, I typically stop at an FBO. And when I do, I expect to be treated fairly and charged a reasonable fee for the services I use. Although most FBOs are doing a great job, there are some exceptions. A few locations across the country are infringing on our freedom to travel, through their egregious pricing practices, monopoly positions, and a significant lack of transparency.

Over the past year, AOPA has received more than 1,000 complaints from members who have had bad experiences at this small number of FBOs. The complaints also paint a picture of why operations at these airports have fallen faster in the past decade than at all other airports. At some airports, pilots face a kind of double taxation: paying high fees to use ramps built with their taxpayer dollars. Hearing how FBO practices at certain locations are forcing pilots to fly less or impeding their travel to certain destinations is disheartening.

Complaints from members range from being charged high fees for parking on publicly funded ramps to being forced to pay outrageous fees for services they didn’t ask for. What makes some of these situations worse is that most of these FBOs are located at public-access airports that accept federal funds through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP). By accepting that money, those airports agree to abide by certain grant assurances, which include providing reasonable pricing and avoiding explicitly or implicitly giving a single FBO an exclusive right.

You would never pay for a tire rotation or an oil change at a gas station when all you purchased was gas. We just want to be charged for the services we ask for and need.Through our research, including price comparisons and analyses of the reports we’ve received, we’ve been able to identify a number of common attributes associated with the most-complained-about locations. Each of these FBOs is the only one on the field, part of a large chain, controls all available ramp space, imposes steep fees and prices, and does not publish fees online. We’ve put a number of these problematic locations on our “Airport Access Watch List.” As we continue to educate airport leaders about their rights and responsibilities as the governing bodies of their field, we hope to get to the root of the problem and find a solution that suits everyone.

Not surprisingly, most locations on the Watch List have seen a decline in operations compared to other airports, most notably in piston and turboprop aircraft.

We are not asking for anything for free; we are simply asking to be treated fairly. You would never pay for a tire rotation or an oil change at a gas station when all you purchased was gas. We just want to be charged for the services we ask for and need, not what FBOs think they can get away with.

We’re also encouraging FBOs to be more transparent about their fees and services, so pilots can make informed decisions before landing. Anyone can easily find out the cost of fuel online; why shouldn’t there be the same level of transparency when it comes to other charges, such as ramp and parking fees?

We’ve also begun working with airport leaders and FBOs devoted to improving their locations and making them more GA friendly—what we’re calling “self-help” airports. And last year, we filed Part 13 complaints over egregious FBO pricing practices at Florida’s Key West International Airport, North Carolina’s Asheville Regional Airport, and Illinois’ Waukegan National Airport. AOPA withdrew the complaint against Waukegan after airport management took steps to address pricing and access, and began offering public-use ramp space for transient aircraft at no charge. Visitors there can bypass the FBO if they do not want or need additional aircraft services.

Improvements like these are exactly what we’re advocating for, and we believe that focusing on cultivating transparency, public access, and competition where practicable are essential to protecting our freedom to fly—a freedom I plan to exercise this Independence Day. I hope you will, too!

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