AOPA Files FAA Part 13 Complaint Over Unfair FBO Pricing

The Part 13 complaint the AOPA filed yesterday with the FAA on behalf of its membership focused on egregious FBO pricing at three primarily GA airports: Chicago’s Waukegan (UGN), Asheville NC (AVL) and Florida’s Key West International (EYW). The Part 13 complaint process is an informal method for impacted parties to ask the FAA to investigate questionable airport operating practices that could violate the airport’s grant-funding assurances.

AOPA began soliciting pilot input on FBO pricing in January and received almost 750 complaints from pilots across America. The top five airports identified in the responses about FBO pricing were Waukegan, Asheville, Key West, Heber City, Utah (36U), and Rochester, Minnesota (RST) airports. The association’s complaint said, “The FBOs have … engaged in egregious pricing practices under minimal oversight and in violation of standards designed to protect reasonable access to public ramp space.”

Additionally, AOPA general counsel Ken Mead said, “The FAA really hasn’t exercised proper oversight in this area for a very long time. These kinds of pricing practices have put airports in violation of grant assurances and at risk of losing federal funding. It’s the responsibility of the FAA and airport sponsors to ensure the terms incorporated in each lease are upheld, especially when they are accepting federal grants.”

Coincidentally, AOPA said the worst pricing issues occurred at UGN, AVL and EYW, three airports that also happen to be served by just a single FBO, Signature Flight Support. “At each of these airports, a single FBO controls all transient ramp space and fuel services, which means each FBO possesses a monopoly position and significant power over access to a public airport.” Each of the Part 13 complaints alleges that Signature’s pricing practices are unreasonable for requiring transient operators, by virtue of landing at the airport, to pay minimum FBO fees for certain facilities and services from which they do not benefit or use. AOPA also alleges that the airports lack competitive or regulatory forces to ensure the reasonableness of Signature’s pricing.

AOPA’s president Mark Baker said, “Our members have spoken and they’re tired of being forced to pay for services they don’t want, ask for, or need. It’s all about price transparency and reasonable access to places that are supposed to be public. We also believe that promoting more competition will help relieve some of the ongoing problems our members continually face at these locations."

Signature Flight Support responded in a prepared statement that the company, “is committed to fair and transparent pricing which supports the high levels of service and safety at all of the airports we serve. We will continue to invest in all of our facilities, including ramp construction, maintenance and repair and will continue to work very closely with the airports we serve to ensure consistent service for all aviators as well as remaining in compliance with the FAA, all regulatory authorities and airport requirements and conditions. Signature invests its own capital to build, renovate and maintain the facilities that support business and general aviation as well as the communities we serve.”