Crappy FBO's

[duc driver]

yea they started hiding the cookies from me when it became breakfast and lunch, although they did start putting them out again after i spent 1700 dollars on a de-ice. the pilot lounge is good for a kip too, its quite.

 

[NorthShore]

Not that they are crappy, but which FBO do people get better service from at PWK, North American or Signature?

 

[Dodge4SRT]

Yo Jake, how is that BE99 treating you??

 

[starcheck208]

everytime at atlantic mdw they tell me not to make a mess in the lounge. i'm sure nj pilots don't get that. i should get a little more respect after buying 100 gallons everytime i'm there at $4 a gallon or whatever they charge

 

[Texanflyboy]

I'm not on 23 this week, but I am flying with Fermin to MDW on 22....he can always sweet talk his way to a crew car! Looks like we'll be eating tonight!

 

[Princedietrich]

It's widely understood in the aviation world that unless your plane has an 8 digit pricetag and a pair of very large turbines on the tail, you WILL get treated like somethign that came out the back end of a sick dog. And heaven help you if you're a freight dawg. MillionAir at BKL won't even let us into the FBO despite fuel purchases and the -40 degree windchill blizards during winter. Atlantic in TEB treats us like 4th class citizens and yells at us for parking in the wrong spots, despite them being too lazy to marshal us in. Atlantic in MDW called the air[port police on one of our guys who just went in there to check the weather computer. ASIG in DTW won't let us in the lobby area or in the pilot lounge because we scare away other customers, even though it's 3am and we're the ONLY ones there.

Shall I go on?

 

[mu2cptn]

Business Jet Center in DAL used to do this to our company too, along with not turning on the heat in the pilots lounge since we were the only ones in there for 12a to 5a. The corporate office called the fbo and advised them that we purchased 10,000 gallos of jet A there a week which equated to 1.4 million dollars of fuel there a year. Needless to say the cookies and bagles were put out before we left in the morning.

Mercury in Reno will hide the cookies when the box-haulers come in. I'm sure this is not the only place to deprive us of a healthy meal! I always felt less than welcome there.

 

[imacdog]

That is too bad to hear that there are so many FBOs that don't treat freight pilots well. Where I worked, the FBOs were very good to us even though we wouldn't buy a lot of gas for our 310s. My favorite FBOs were Fargo Jet Center (regular stop) and the Million Air at St. Paul Downtown (alternate).

 

[leardawg]

Those stories of bad treatment by FBOs are pretty pathetic; don't these FBOs realize today's freight trash is quite possibly tomorrow's Gulfstream Captain? I remember a couple of places from my freight days that dished out similar treatment and attitudes, and I haven't forgotten. I make it a point to not give them any more business than I absolutely have to, from fuel purchase to coins in a vending machine. Business is business, and any savy manager would realize the un-wiseness of looking down their nose at any customer, big or small. Having said that, the vast majority of FBOs I passed through during those days didn't seem to discriminate (either everyone was treated like a valued customer, or everyone got sh***y service.) Most of the stories of discrminatory treatment seemed to involve particular individuals who were most likely despised by a majority of their co-workers, the Barney Fife/Frank Burns hybrids.

 

[troy]

We still have popcorn for all at FSD! And the new lobby is projected to be finished Apr-May timeframe. Stop in sometime. The new hanger is done, real nice and large, too. (bring your G5) Tell them Troy sent ya (like that would get you anywhere!)

 

[jaxpilot]

we treat freight dogs well at the FBO i work at. Bankair comes in all night and has full access to everything, though sometimes we forget to remove the chocks and cones from around their plane when they leave.

 

[StarHustler]

Avcenter in SDF, although the late night ramp guys are nice, the management is cheap. They won't honor our avpoints card and state that it is because the program is for Jet-A only. What a crock of crap. We buy over 1000 gallons of avgas there a week. Last time I checked the price of avgas was about the same as the price of Jet-A (and Im sure the profit margin is as well).

 

[FlyingSkip]

Couple points...

Just signed up for AvPoints yesterday, as a matter of fact, after seeing the placards for years, and the Signature girl at PDK was adamant that it applies equally to avgas/jet-a. If you can grab one of the pamphlets it says the same thing (I just checked) so don't be afraid to call the program # and complain about the specific FBO.

I fly wearing a tie now cuz the pax expect it and DEFINITELY get better treatment than I did wearing dirty, greasy blue jeans but I found on the freight side that a lot of it comes down to how you treat the people. If you actually talk to the line guys and counter chicks, and treat them like THEY are doing a job worthy of respect, than they usually tend to return that style of treatment. It absolutely amazes me the way that a lot of pilots, from PP student wannabes thru freight dawgs thru corporate high poobahs treat people in FBOs---they will almost always respond in kind to the way THEY get treated. My opinion, and as a caveat I HAVE complained to FBO mgrs about bad treatment---if you haven't done anything to warrant bad treatment then don't be afraid to make waves. I had an FBO mgr tell me that he'd call my boss and complain about me---I told him to go ahead, I was an employee earning my keep and he was a guy making $$$ off our fuel bill so who would they believe more? He shut up, and things improved from then on...

Not on the freight destination side, but I don't think I've ever seen a worse FBO than the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge airport (GKT). They are rude, unfriendly, unhelpful and just plain nasty! When I said something, their reply---"We're a tourist destination so people will come no matter how we treat them." Unbelievable!

 

[kel11]

TAC Air in KSHV. As nice as the place is, they are predijusticed agaisnt freight pilots. Tonight when I flew in I asked where the cookies were. She said, and I quote, "Oh, I usually pick them up before the freight pilots get here because they eat em all." She then offered me some, me being a college instrument student. =)

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

Not that they are crappy, but which FBO do people get better service from at PWK, North American or Signature?

North American is going down hill. If you pull up in a piston or something that looks like a freight hauler, then don't expect much.

The new signature looks like it is going to be a top notch place. Maybe they won't let freight haulers in and they will send them down to the old place.

Worst place, come on, if you have never been to DET....Murray (not really an FBO) and Signature. I don't much like Gulf at HRL either.

 

[kingaira90]

Det

Worst place, come on, if you have never been to DET....Murray (not really an FBO) and Signature. I don't much like Gulf at HRL either.

I will agree with you on general principal about DET. It is just about the only airport that I easily conjur up the mental image of getting robbed or shot on the ramp. Although as you said Murray isn't really an fbo, more of a freight ramp. At least you can sit in a soft chair(although of questionable hygeine), go to the bathroom, buy a coke, and watch tv. Sometimes you even get to watch dvd's of movies still in theaters!!!! I have been to plenty of freight ramps with no seating, no tv, no vending, and an escorted trip to the john. So as an fbo Murray sucks, as a freight ramp it isn't so bad, if you can block out the thoughts of impending demise. Not saying that I want to hang out there and soak up the character though.-kingaira90

 

[Wankel7]

Byerly in PIA gets my vote as a freighter unfriendly place. Threatened to call the cops on me in the late 90's.

It know its been a few years...

But they have always been nice to me.

Wankel