Crappy FBO's

[OPECJet]

Atlantic Jet Center, MLB. Worst I have dealt with. All seemed well on arrival with a friendly lady working the counter and a good rampy who was waiting with wands when we pulled in. Went down hill after some whore I assume to be one of the owners arrived. Asked for a crew car and got a dirty look, followed by "are you a customer?". Then it was what are you flying, are you fueling? Upon her getting "the jet, and yes" from me, I was given the keys to the most cherry Lexus? you'll ever see. Driver's side door wouldn't open or unlock, and the low fuel light was on. I have no problem with dropping a 10'er in the tank, but dam!

When it was time to leave, the lone rampy showed his true colors by not having the airplane fueled. It sat there on the ramp for 8 hrs and no gas. Not to mention the 425 degree setting the a/c was on.

Definately FIT Aviation next time.

Been to Dolphin many times as well. RC, the owner is more concerned with his ego rather than running an FBO. I hear he's got some competition down there now, so things might get better.

So what is the deal with the security at BOS? What could they possibly be looking for?

 

[Optimax200]

Nayak

Nayak FBO @ KSAT, what a chit hole.......

 

[CFIcare]

the good, bad and Signature

Good thread here.

I'd agree with the worst being:
Atlantic LAS
Signature BOS
the city run fire station/FBO joke at HYA
Signature MSP (stole our GPU to put on a Flexjet plane after we paid for it)
the "FBO/trailer" at DFW
Atlantic MDW (GPU issues every time)

As far as the good ones, I've always had good luck at Jet Aviation TEB, Wilson Air Center in CLT and MEM, Flower Aviation in PUB, and I've had some of the best treatment at the mom and pop FBOs in remote places. What they lack in glamorous facilities they make up for in customer service for both the pilots and passengers. They also tend to not charge ramp, service, overnight, or facility fees and they treat you so good I kinda wish they would charge something for their own sake.

 

[planegray]

SIGNATURE! SIGNATURE! SIGNATURE!

WINS MY VOTE!

 

[G100driver]

I've had some of the best treatment at the mom and pop FBOs in remote places. What they lack in glamorous facilities they make up for in customer service for both the pilots and passengers. They also tend to not charge ramp, service, overnight, or facility fees and they treat you so good I kinda wish they would charge something for their own sake.

I could not agree more. I try and tell these guys that I should at least pay a service fee. I need these friendly folks to be there the next time I go to a small town.

I know that they cannot make any money just having a $25 million dollar airplane sitting on their ramp for free!

Next time a mom and pop operator wants to charge you $100 (or whatever they charge) for ramp space, instead of giving them crap, say

"thank-you, I appreciate your being here to take care of us!"

Smile and hand the line service tech $10 because he ran up to your airplane, laid out the red carpet and helped your pax with their bags.

 

[pilotviolin]

Here is why LANDMARK IAD SUCKS. We were there overnight, and when the plane came back from BFE, it was missing a the engine cover. They never did find it or take responsiblity.
For being one of the most secure airports in the nation, you would think someone would notice a big red cover!

 

[FLYN2FAST4YOU]

Signatures
Atlantic Aviation -LAS
Livermore, CA

 

[smellthejeta]

Here is why LANDMARK IAD SUCKS. We were there overnight, and when the plane came back from BFE, it was missing a the engine cover. They never did find it or take responsiblity.
For being one of the most secure airports in the nation, you would think someone would notice a big red cover!

There's lots of places for an engine cover to blow around over there -- there's a big runway next to the runup block, there's a huge ditch next to the taxi way, and there's a bunch of trees and woods. When the wind-comes-a-knockin, you'd be amazed where thet stuff turns up. If the airport authority finds them and doesn't turn them in, we're none the wiser.

 

[smellthejeta]

SJF:

Thanks for taking the time to spell it out for us. We as pilots ( and I'm sure you are one) just need a reason to Biatch and moan. And very busy FBO's just provide a very easy target.
And you are right, I am guilty as most of telling you to get me ready at 4, and the boss arrives at 7.
No good excuse, but I would have planned my dinner based on 4, and now I'm hungry, and cranky.
Nawww, I'm cranky all the time, but I'm still hungry.
Do the best you can, I'll adapt.

Hung

Big FBO's tend to charge a ton in fees partly because they have to, and partly because they can. So many of our customers (more than half) were on some sort of contract or "preferred" fuel arrangement. Hint: The "sticker price" that is listed as "today's price" is more like the price of an airline ticket -- everybody pays something different. "Today's price" gets charged only to the guys buying a couple of hundered gallons. Anybody in a large aircraft has a fuel contract arrangement of some sort.

The fees that we paid for leases and taxes to the airport authority are huge. I can't remember how big they were, but they weren't cheap. Labor ain't cheap either, I think our full staff was around 30 guys total -- usually about 9 guys on any given day for the AM and PM shifts and three on the graveyard. Oh yea, want 24 hour line service that you don't have to worry about calling out ahead of time, without paying a specific fee for it? Be prepared to pay for it in the fuel price.

Some of those fees are definitely "because we can" fees. I worked part time at a reliever airport (HEF) and we had next to no traffic. Cheaper fuel, cheaper fees, and an owner that made a line guy stand at the door of any Gulfstream on the ramp. I always thought that if the service at the "biggie" sucked so bad, that the relievers would be eating them up. Nope. Why? The location of HEF sucks. The way I66 is configured (it has a varying number of lane changes for the 20 mile stretch between the city and the airport) traffic backups can get very very nasty. If your boss has to do that, even once, you'll hear about it. The road to IAD is a dedicated access road for about 15 miles. The traffic is very light on most portions of it. It's convenient, and in this business, time is money.

Landmark has its service issues, don't get me wrong. Some days are just too darned busy to do anything about. Then, there are also slipups -- something you find at any FBO. But, it's a place I'd take MY customers in a heartbeat -- the guys try hard (and get paid very little). For the amount of work they have to do, the wages are insulting.

At my current line job, I have a bit broader job description (I never worked the counter at Landmark, we had a 24 hr CSR). If you ever show up at 0200, I assume you want to get the heck out of here and in bed as fast as you can . You won't sit around forever waiting for a cab or a ride to the hotel, and I don't dick around servicing your plane. On a quick turn? Guess what, if all I do is watch your passengers get off the plane, I'll find some excuse not to charge you a ramp fee. Need a fuel truck? It's ready as soon as the pax are clear. This job pays me very well, and gives me a killer benefits package. My employer (and customers) take care of me, so I try to take care of them.

 

[Launchpad]

No mention of Jimsair in KSAN yet? Yikes, that place blows.