Signature agrees to publish fees

AOPA push for pricing transparency is paying off

October 1, 2022

AOPA continues to make pricing transparency a priority after hearing from thousands of pilots who were surprised by egregious fees, including ramp fees, drop-off fees, tiedown fees, and other surcharges after they had parked their airplanes.

Saving Airports

New life for New Cuyama

After several years of neglect, New Cuyama Airport (L88) in California’s high desert will get a second chance at life after residents, pilots, and volunteers decided it was worth saving. The airfield has a legion of supporters from its local community, which hopes to reopen the field in October. Although challenges with costs and runway maintenance led to the slow decline and ultimate closure of New Cuyama, the airport has long been backed by local pilots and its rural community.

AOPA, local businesses, pilots, and volunteers agree the New Cuyama Airport is an asset to the region for emergency support, wildfire suppression, and pilot training, and as a landmark for visitors to experience all that the Cuyama Valley has to offer. Its location in the high desert also provides a much-needed safety net for transient pilots flying from California’s Central Valley to the coast, as it’s the only option when crossing the surrounding mountains. There is still work to be done. Taxiway and ramp funds are still needed to meet California Department of Transportation requirements, and leaders need to draft a maintenance plan. Supporters are asking for help from the aviation community to complete the reopening effort by visiting its fundraising page.

aopa.org/pilot/newcuyama

AOPA releases weather survey results

AOPA’s sixth annual Weather Survey investigated how pilots access and use weather information. The survey was sent by email to more than 30,000 AOPA members across the country. Nearly 2,500 survey responses were collected. The results indicate more work is needed to encourage filing pilot reports, and to be familiar with the FAA advisory circular on self-conducted weather briefings. The popularity of weather cameras is increasing as they spread to other parts of the country. The 2022 report found that there has been little change in the resources pilots turn to for weather data in initial briefings, immediately prior to flight, and during the cruise phase. Pilots primarily use aviation apps and flight service more than any other resources—although the latter’s popularity has decreased 20 percent in the past five years. Conversely, pilots in Alaska turn to FAA weather cameras and flight service specialists for their preflight weather information.

aopa.org/pilot/weathersurvey

AOPA has advocated for more than five years to convince FBOs to publish fees online so that pilots can review the prices and make decisions before flight. Signature Flight Support, the largest FBO chain in the world, has agreed to publish fees in the AOPA Airport Directory.

Signature Flight Support owns FBO locations serving more than 200 airports—a network that recently grew with Signature’s acquisition of TAC Air facilities, the latest expansion of the worldwide chain since investors purchased Signature for $4.6 billion in 2021.

Signature’s complete fee information was pushed live on July 21, after company executives gave the final signoff. This was the culmination of a focused effort directed at persuading all FBOs to follow the lead of the many independent and municipal FBO operators and a few chains, such as Atlantic Aviation, that began publishing fee information in September. Centric Aviation, Meridian Air, Wilson Air Center, and Cutter Aviation have made all fees completely transparent, although several large chains still do not make all their ramp fees available online, including Million Air, Sheltair Aviation, and Jet Aviation.

“We’re pleased that Signature has agreed to post its prices in AOPA’s online directory, which allows pilots to make informed decisions in their preflight planning,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “This announcement addresses the growing demand among our members for more airport and FBO transparency. I appreciate Signature’s management team for moving this forward. I am hopeful transparency will lead to more pricing competition resulting in lower prices for pilots. We are all in this together, and all sectors of aviation need to come together to ensure fairness and success so more and more can participate in this amazing experience of general aviation.”

AOPA estimated that about 25 percent of the FBO industry had instituted voluntary fee transparency by the end of 2021. Signature’s data will significantly increase that percentage.

aopa.org/pilot/signaturecomplies

The case for transparency

By Mike Ginter, AOPA vice president, airports and state advocacy

As you make travel plans, you easily find airfares, hotel prices, car rental fees, menus, and prices for all kinds of activities. Online transparent pricing is so prevalent that we take it for granted. But fly into your vacation destination and park your aircraft at Million Air, Sheltair, Jet Aviation, or many of the other big-chain FBOs, and you’ll get sticker shock. The sticker price for their parking fees (they may call it handling, infrastructure, or security) is high, but the real shock is that their fees are not available online.

We support a goal of free market competition that keeps general aviation, including FBOs, strong and vibrant; we have no issue with most FBOs as they perform a critical service and do a great job for GA. AOPA and the major GA associations collaborated in 2018 to publish the Know Before You Go best practices for FBOs, which calls for easy access to FBO parking fees online. We found that the roughly 360 FBOs owned by the 18 largest FBO companies were the biggest offenders of hidden parking fees, and the source of thousands of complaints from pilots. Our research indicates that 62 percent of these FBO chains (with three or more locations) are not transparent with their parking fees.

AOPA made its Airport Directory available for any FBO or airport business to post fees and other information, and today 55,000 pilots per month visit this site for preflight and destination planning. AOPA was happy to work closely with Signature Flight Support to digitally connect its pricing database with our Airport Directory, so pilots can now see what they will be charged at more than 200 Signature FBOs. We also appreciate Atlantic Aviation and its full online transparency, and now call on the rest of the chain FBOs to follow by making ramp fees available to pilots online. It’s the right thing to do.

[email protected]

On the front lines

It takes a village

By Brad Schuster, AOPA Northwest Mountain Region manager

Aviation activity in Glenwood Springs, Colorado (GWS), dates back to 1913 with a gravel strip, and the airport has been a vital part of this community since. In 2018, an Airport Property Scenario Planning Project was commissioned to consider repurposing the land. This project set off alarm bells within the aviation community, and AOPA Airport Support Network (ASN) volunteer Eric Strautman immediately got involved.

Many passionate AOPA members organized the “Save Our Special Airport” and “Friends of the Glenwood Springs Airport” groups to seek amendment of the Glenwood Springs city charter, and protect the airport from significant changes or closure without approval by a majority of the qualified electors of the city. They then campaigned to petition for a ballot initiative and encourage the community to vote yes.

This grassroots activism to save GWS resulted in 81 percent of voters saying yes to amending Glenwood Springs’ charter. The people understood the value of this airport to their community, and they wanted to save the airport. The airport’s long-term future is now secure.

Learn more about the ASN volunteer program and join our ranks to engage with, promote, and protect your airport today. Go to aopa.org/asn or call 800/USA-AOPA.