Crappy FBO's

[flyinlow67]

JFK is horrible. No service at all! Went in for a Lifeguard trip, and there was no crew lounge, no weather, no tugs, nothing. Just some crappy airline terminal seats and a spanish fishing show on the very old TV. The fuel was by some contract fuel company that had to come from somewhere else on the field and looked baffled by a single point recepticle!

 

[leardawg]

JFK is horrible. No service at all! Went in for a Lifeguard trip, and there was no crew lounge, no weather, no tugs, nothing. Just some crappy airline terminal seats and a spanish fishing show on the very old TV. The fuel was by some contract fuel company that had to come from somewhere else on the field and looked baffled by a single point recepticle!

That ain't no FBO. It's a penalty box for making the decision to go in there.

 

[CheeseDick]

I believe it's county or city run, but the Naples airport APF, the FBO there totally sucks wang.

 

[Raskal]

Sheltair LGA-unbelievable
Atlantic LAS whenever it's busy at all (even lost our airplane once)
Signature BOS-One day that jacka$$ at the friggin really necessary metal detector is gonna get hit by a pax
Signature DET
Signature anywhere

 

[400A]

I believe it's county or city run, but the Naples airport APF, the FBO there totally sucks wang.

We have just the opposite experience there. We have been going there 5-6 times a month for 6 1/2 years and we get AWESOME service.

Maybe it is because they know us, but I rarely see unhappy pilots at the counter. To be as busy as they are, I think they do a good job.

We land, kick out the boss, grab the crew car (they have 2 now) and by the time we are back from Rib City she is fueled and the GPU is on and running.

We had one bad experience that I brought to the line service manager's attention, and the next time we landed that employee (one of their best) was standing at the door when I opened it and fessed up and apologized to me, my partner in crime and the owner. I thought that took guts!

 

[LegacyDriver]

I second the Naples bashing. BLECH.

Oh and don't get me started on that (#&$(#*&$ metal detector in KBOS. Grrrrrr.

 

[xdrvr]

While we are Signature bashing, lets throw Signature DET in the mix. The place is loud, old, dirty, smells like a rancid popcorn oil and you stand a pretty good chance of getting shot at if you go off property. And thats during the daylight hours!!!

Boy aint that the truth, always gotta watch your back in Motown

 

[coloneldan]

Yeah. Make sure your TCAS is working and keep your eyes open. They need a tower in a big bad way. You have military jet traffic across the bay, banners being pulled along the beach right off the end of the runway, student pilots, doctors in their Bonanzas and corporate traffic trying to get in and out. It is an accident waiting to happen. I cringe every time I see DTS on the schedule.

I haven't been in there in years, but....

You used to have to contact Eglin to get your clearance. They would say contact approach when you're number 1. You call Approach and they would say Released for departure. You wouldn't believe how many times I have had people pull out on the runway in front of me. They think it's a clearance to take off. I even had one guy try to chew me out because I almost hit him. He told me he had a clearance to takeoff and I must have not been talking to approach.

The last time I was in there, Approach was saying something like, when traffic allows, you're released for departure.

 

[Batplane]

JFK- Did the best they could with what little they have.

Signature- I don't even bother with them unless they are the only option,

But the worst FBO we deal with on a regular basis is Dolphin Aviation in SRQ. They never cease to amaze me with how inept they are. Never have the plane pulled up in time. Always lose the paperwork on us. It takes three requests before they do anything (sort of like the Will Ferrell Character from Austin Powers). Not sure why we keep subjecting ourselves to these guys.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

While we are Signature bashing, lets throw Signature DET in the mix. The place is loud, old, dirty, smells like a rancid popcorn oil and you stand a pretty good chance of getting shot at if you go off property. And thats during the daylight hours!!!

I agree, any FBO that has a Signature sign above the door. However, Signature DET has moved to the vacant terminal as of Super Bowl weekend. They are remodeling their old building in a project that is suppose to last a year. They do seem to be making a better effort these days. Perhaps the Super Bowl got something fired up over there.

IMHO

Large Airport- DFW city GA Facility
Medium Airport- SHV Tac Air...the only Tac Air that I have ever had a bad experience at and I have had several there.
Small Airport- JXN Skyway Aviation...bad attitude