The reviews are in: Pilots can rate airports, businesses

From the airport itself to FBOs, restaurants, flight schools, and maintenance shops, pilots are encouraged to give their feedback—the good, the bad, and the ugly—on all aspects of an airport’s amenities, and to check the experience other pilots had at those locations. The new rating functionality allows users to provide up to five-star ratings, post reviews, upload photos, and like other users’ comments. Just as important, managers and business owners can interact with customers by responding to user comments, recognizing great feedback, and addressing customer concerns that would otherwise go unanswered. For both pilots and airport businesses, the tools are designed to make traveling with GA aircraft better.

The member-requested feature is a welcome addition to the Airport Directory Online as more and more consumers are turning to online reviews. According to research from Gatherup, 88 percent of buyers are influenced by online reviews, and that especially rings true with the younger crowd—with 91 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds saying they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

“AOPA’s rating and review platform is a great tool to give pilots added confidence to get out, fly, explore, and visit the thousands of great destinations that GA can take them,” said AOPA Senior Vice President of Marketing Jiri Marousek. “Crowdsourced reviews are a critical customer expectation today, and they drive every industry to get better at serving our customers and foster transparency by sharing firsthand experiences—it’s a win for pilots, airport managers, and local businesses.”

Along with the new ratings and review feature, AOPA’s Airport Directory Online also has an updated and rebuilt kneeboard format. The kneeboard now displays traffic pattern altitudes in addition to FAA reported pattern altitudes. Comments on runway conditions, noise abatement information, pilot-activated lighting details, and clearance delivery phone numbers are also available.

Users leaving reviews must be logged in to AOPA.org but do not need to be an AOPA member. Airport and business managers do not need to have a paid AOPA membership in order to respond to a review but must have administrative access to their listing, which is provided at no cost.

The new additions to the Airport Directory Online combined with the AOPA travel portal and biweekly AOPA Travel Pilot newsletter make it easy for pilots to discover fun new places to fly and share their adventures. Now, care to comment?