People seem to be quite willing to knock Airnav, so I'll say a few words in the site's defense.
Airnav is basically a one man show, started several years ago by Paolo Santos as an effort to help pilots get better deals on fuel. Since then it has evolved into a comprehensive airport directory that I and many others find more useful than any other flight planning tool. While the site now lists contact info as only a corporation in NJ, I have no doubt it is still a mom-and-pop operation. It must take a great deal of time to keep the thing running. Years ago Paolo asked for donations to support it. In place of that, Airnav now solicits advertisements from aviation businesses. Those who pay get a more prominent listing, but every business can be listed with at least a phone no. and comments.
I suspect delays in comments are due to the time it takes for the very limited "staff" to review them and make sure nothing slanderous gets included. Some posts in the past were downright nasty, including personal insults, and the comments stay posted for a long, long time. I have not experienced any delays, and I am a frequent contributor. I sent in two fuel prices on Sunday; both were up on Monday. Comments genrally take just a day or two longer.
On the subject of comments, I'll tell you what I'm looking for. I like to know first and foremost what fees I'll be faced with. Try to be specific as to landing fees, parking fees, ramp fees, fuel discounts or amount needed to waive any fees. The type of aircraft you're flying is important to include too. Do they have ropes, or do you need your own? Do they have hangars in case the weather's bad? How can you get where you need to go? Are rental cars easy to get? Is there an hour wait for a taxi? Anything you can walk to, like an on-field restaurant, or one nearby? Deluxe satellite weather feed or a rotary phone outside?
Happily I saved $90 this past week by parking six nights at Andrews-Murphy rather than Asheville NC, thanks to an Airnav comment.
I find a lot of the comments are along the lines of "Nice folks," with an occasional "not nice folks." These don't help much, unless perhaps one sentiment far exceeds the other. Nor does echoing the "Nice folks" comment from a few weeks before.
I generally plan x-country fuel stops based on Airnav and have never been disppointed, since I know what to expect? A hole in the wall with rock-bottom self serve fuel prices? Red carpet treatment and help with hotels etc but higher prices? Sometimes I want each type of FBO.
Finally, please take a minute and post those fuel prices. You need to register, but you did for this site too. Even if the price hasn't changed in months, send in an update. It's much more helpful to know the price a relatively current.
Sorry for the rant, but I love Airnav.
Jon
