Calling FBO's

StinkBug

StinkBug

Cleared for Takeoff
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Jun 27, 2014
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San Diego
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Dallas
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I've seen quite a few threads on here talking about getting shocked by ridiculous fees at various FBO's. Reading through them my first thoughts are usually "well now I know where not to go" very quickly followed by "why was this a surprise?" I don't mean why aren't you expecting to get bent over, I mean why didn't you find out ahead of time?

Am I the only pilot who calls an FBO before taking off and simply asks them how much their fees are? Before any flight somewhere new I'll pull up airnav and call all the FBOs and ask what I'm in for so that I can budget it into the trip. Even on the rare occasions where I've ended up somewhere unexpectedly I at least asked what the charges were when I walked in the door, not when I came back to depart like many seem to.
 
StinkBug said:
I've seen quite a few threads on here talking about getting shocked by ridiculous fees at various FBO's. Reading through them my first thoughts are usually "well now I know where not to go" very quickly followed by "why was this a surprise?" I don't mean why aren't you expecting to get bent over, I mean why didn't you find out ahead of time?

Am I the only pilot who calls an FBO before taking off and simply asks them how much their fees are? Before any flight somewhere new I'll pull up airnav and call all the FBOs and ask what I'm in for so that I can budget it into the trip. Even on the rare occasions where I've ended up somewhere unexpectedly I at least asked what the charges were when I walked in the door, not when I came back to depart like many seem to.
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I generally do the same if it's somewhere I've never been to before.

It's funny, nearly every flight school posts their aircraft rental rates on their website or in their lobby, but nearly no FBO publishes their fee schedule. Sometimes the fees vary from one CSR to the next. So yeah, I will ask, and then verify when I arrive. I try to be low key about it, but often it seems like it's the first time the CSR has been asked that question.
 
StinkBug said:
Am I the only pilot who calls an FBO before taking off and simply asks them how much their fees are?
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I do. But then again...

Brad Z said:
Sometimes the fees vary from one CSR to the next.
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I have seen this. When I worked line service I have seen some CSRs charge people more or less depending on their attitude toward the CSR.
 
I like to use air nav,for the basic info,for fees I call the FBO directly. Also ask about local accommodations ,and transportation.
 
Gucci Pilot said:
I do. But then again...

I have seen this. When I worked line service I have seen some CSRs charge people more or less depending on their attitude toward the CSR.
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This is why I'm always super friendly and nice on the phone when I call. When doing PnP flights I always make sure to mention that and occasionally they will simply waive the fees for those flights, more often not, but they are usually always friendly at least.
 
Calling ahead of time is standard practice in my pre-flight planning. And after this past trip, I will be adding another item to that checklist - pack a backup credit card. Turns out my primary refused to work at either of the two self-serve pumps I tried on my last trip. Fortunately it was daytime and both FBOs ran the card inside manually after topping off.
 
I always call, especially if there's more than one on the field...


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Standard practice to call, not only about fees. But things like are the fuel pumps working.
Have shown up at the self-serve pump after hours to a sign that says "Hit by lightning, Out of service Call xxx-xxx for after hours call-out, $45 call out fee"

Had a friend show up at an airport low on fuel to the sign that said "Gone on Vacation, back in two weeks", Fortunately he found someone on the field that could sell him enough fuel to get to the next airport.

Our local airport, was doing construction and the man gate was out of service, there was no way to get out of the airport after hours without a vehicle. I showed up just as a family was about to try throwing grandma over the fence to get out.

Brian
 
I rarely ever call ahead. Reason being, many of the places I go are either small county airports that are largely unattended, or I'm headed off the beaten path even further. I generally will call ahead when I'm headed to a larger airport that I think might have fees or I need some other service. I have been surprised at a few airports, but only in a good way (meaning that the fees were lower than anticipated).

Maybe those people who have been caught by unexpected fees haven't called ahead because they weren't taught to? :dunno: Also, I could see a lot of people from around my area being surprised if or when they venture out away from here because almost no airport or FBO charges around these parts.
 
I rarely call because I generally know what to expect. And I'm OK with the (typically) small fees you get hit with in a single piston - even at the Class Bravos. But I did call about this weekend since I'm going to KAUS for the F1 race. It is $295 facility fee for the weekend for a piston single which is the most I have ever paid but inline with what I expected so I'll pay it. Only thing that worries me is the weather forecast looks like a lot of storms and I don't love the idea of being on a ramp with chocks only during a storm. But I can't bring myself to ask what the hangar fee would be...
 
RudyP said:
I rarely call because I generally know what to expect. And I'm OK with the (typically) small fees you get hit with in a single piston - even at the Class Bravos. But I did call about this weekend since I'm going to KAUS for the F1 race. It is $295 facility fee for the weekend for a piston single which is the most I have ever paid but inline with what I expected so I'll pay it. Only thing that worries me is the weather forecast looks like a lot of storms and I don't love the idea of being on a ramp with chocks only during a storm. But I can't bring myself to ask what the hangar fee would be...
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Which airport and FBO? They may tie you down.
 
RudyP said:
I rarely call because I generally know what to expect. And I'm OK with the (typically) small fees you get hit with in a single piston - even at the Class Bravos. But I did call about this weekend since I'm going to KAUS for the F1 race. It is $295 facility fee for the weekend for a piston single which is the most I have ever paid but inline with what I expected so I'll pay it. Only thing that worries me is the weather forecast looks like a lot of storms and I don't love the idea of being on a ramp with chocks only during a storm. But I can't bring myself to ask what the hangar fee would be...
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There are several much cheaper airports around Austin you might want to check into.
 
mondtster said:
Maybe those people who have been caught by unexpected fees haven't called ahead because they weren't taught to? :dunno:
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Do people really need to be taught everything these days, or is a dose of common sense out of the question? If you're going somewhere unfamiliar a little bit of checking is a fairly obvious thing to do and even 30 seconds on the Airnav comments section will give you all the info you need, 90% of the time.
 
Newish pilot but any new airport I call. I hate to get there and no fuel and know what to expect for landing/tie down/hangar fees. Also give estimate landing which has always got a lineman on ramp to direct me to park and fuel up right away while I am doing post flight. So far this has saved a lot of time for me and do what I need. No surprises. No hassle.


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I call sometimes. If I have to go no matter what, it doesn't matter to me. I try and sweet talk the rep into waiving and that works about 40% of the time. At Monroe Regional, she had played this game before and squeezed me for the juice even though I filled up. Brian] felt the squeeze too and he filled up his Bo WITH tips. I wont go back there unless I absolutely had to.

But if I'm out be-boppin around, I'll avoid the ramp fee FBOs and make the call.
 
RudyP said:
I rarely call because I generally know what to expect. And I'm OK with the (typically) small fees you get hit with in a single piston......
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See around here the fee can be anywhere from $5/night to over $100 just to land, load a passenger and leave, so it's hard to know what to expect without calling ahead.

Totally jealous about the F1 race BTW. Give HYI a try. That's where I landed when I went through Austin this August. Short enough drive, friendly people and much cheaper.
 
Whether or not I call generally depends on how many nights I stay. Sometimes I'll call to get a weather pirep if there aren't any reporting stations nearby, though.
 
RudyP said:
.... Only thing that worries me is the weather forecast looks like a lot of storms and I don't love the idea of being on a ramp with chocks only during a storm. But I can't bring myself to ask what the hangar fee would be...
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Signature does have tie downs, which are mostly unused. Today however, they are parking big jets in the tie down area. There is one lone Tecam 2010 ( sweeeetttt) tied in amongst the heavy metal. If you ask really nice they might be able to squeeze you into a tiedown.

I was out there tonight, there was some kind of Halloween party going on in the Signature building.
 
What's the reasoning behind the crazy high fees for piston singles at some of the bigger airports? I'd always kind of assumed it was just to discourage small planes from landing there and wasting their time.

I really don't see why I should pay a dime just for gracing someone's concrete with my tires, especially if I'm buying fuel from them. I kinda get charging for the parking... but even then more than $5-10 seems like a rip-off.
 
Nah, calling ahead ruins the fun. Better to just pick one by overflying the town and scoping the resturants and hotels from the air. I always assume there is no landing or tie down fee, especially if I get gas. If its unattended there can be some real interesting stuff like getting Bubba the town cop to come turn on the pumps etc. Of course most unattended just work as self serve all the time. All part of the adventure!

I once landed at some podunk airport in Nebraska. It was listed as having fuel and sure enough, it had a pump. Inside the shack was a phone and a number to call for the guy to come turn on the pump. I call and its the sheriffs dispatcher, Aunt Bee (type). She says hold the phone and takes another call. I could hear. Went like this

"So you are home alone now?"
"yes"
"and you are scared?"
"Wheres your mom?"
"I dont know"
"Who is taking care of you?"
"Granpa"
"Where is grandpa?"
"On the tractor"
"Ok, well Ill call Aunt Em, you hang on now, ok?"
"ok"

I dunno, small town life...piece of Americana. Pretty cool...
 
Then there was another time I landed in Nevada. Caught the guy there. He says "you are lucky to catch me here, I might not a been here, then what would have you done?"

I say "not sure, usually you can call the police they know the story on the gas at the airport" "Ill say this whatever I do, Im not taking off without enough gas to get to the next airport"

"Hey thats pretty good" he says. "Want to buy my check flying business?"
 
RudyP said:
I rarely call because I generally know what to expect. And I'm OK with the (typically) small fees you get hit with in a single piston - even at the Class Bravos. But I did call about this weekend since I'm going to KAUS for the F1 race. It is $295 facility fee for the weekend for a piston single which is the most I have ever paid but inline with what I expected so I'll pay it. Only thing that worries me is the weather forecast looks like a lot of storms and I don't love the idea of being on a ramp with chocks only during a storm. But I can't bring myself to ask what the hangar fee would be...
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Yes, the weather looks VERY bad for most of the weekend. Heavy pop-up downpours, lightning etc. Not fun. If you have a good panel with XM weather, you might brave it.
FWIW, call KEDC for a quote. Jodie is a great manager, she might be able to tie you down for less than KAUS. Rental car might be a problem. Try landing in College Station (KCLL) or other not-so-distant location to get a $20 tie-down and rental car. Might be worth it to drive the last 80 miles.
 
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