Six major aviation associations yesterday jointly published, “Know Before You Go,” a number of best communications and business practices designed to make FBO pricing more transparent to customers. The KBYG list includes potential prices, fees and charges pilots might face at an airport. The awareness campaign is designed to improve the overall customer experience. “While retail fuel prices are readily available online at multiple websites, it is presently not common practice for FBOs to make available online other prices and fees,” a group news release said. Parties to the document were GAMA, NBAA, AOPA, HAI, EAA and NATA.
This new best practices awareness effort, an offshoot of the AOPA’s year-long effort to publicize the real cost of flying, does not single out any specific FBO chain, but recognizes that FBOs and their GA customers are one component of a complex aviation infrastructure affecting the nation’s economy. The joint release calls upon fixed base operators (FBOs) to “move expeditiously to implement these practices,” but also recommends customers contact FBOs directly, “so that operators can ask questions, know and evaluate their options, and make informed decisions.”
“Our nation’s general aviation community depends on active pilots and the important services provided by FBOs all across the nation,” noted NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “With this document, we recognize this synergistic relationship as we work together toward the shared goals of collaboration, transparency and growth.”
