CAA: GA News, "Don't begrudge FBOs for being profit-driven"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Friday, April 28, 2000

Editorial
Don’t begrudge FBOs for being profit-driven
GA News


There’s an ad in the print version of the April 28 Flyer that publicizes an
FBO auction. All the company’s planes and equipment are being sold to the
highest bidder.

The firm’s doors are closed.

We don’t know the details behind its demise. Maybe the owners simply quit.
Maybe it was economics or bad management. Maybe there was a sale or merger,
and the planes and equipment became nothing but surplus to the larger
entity.

Regardless, this company will be no more.

All of which has made us think of comments we’ve heard over the years and
about how some pilots use FBOs. While nearly everyone wants to buy products
at the lowest prices, it is important to remember that most businesses don’t
survive unless they make a profit.

Just recently a fellow asked us to investigate an operator who was
implementing a ramp fee. He was incensed at the thought of paying for a
parking spot on the FBO’s ramp.

When prodded, this individual conceded that he frequently landed at the
airport in question and visited the FBO. He was always met by an
acquaintance who would take him away to their meeting and return him later.

Rarely did he buy fuel, because the airport was only about an hour from his
home base. He admitted that on occasion he had a cup of coffee from the pot
in the pilot’s lounge, and he frequently used the restroom.

The lineman was always friendly and helped him tie down the plane, he added,
and once in a while when his windshield really got splattered with bugs he
used some of the operator’s windshield cleaner and some rags.

Did the few gallons of fuel he bought on rare occasions cover the costs of
the FBO? Did the profit from those few gallons make a dent in the operator’s
tax bills? How about the rent that paid for the land? Who pays for the
employee’s salary, the tiedown ropes, making sure the ramp is free of
debris, and on and on and on?

We like freebies as much as the next guy, but we also wonder where we’ll get
our fuel as well as the other services and facilities when all the FBOs go
out of business.

Yes, we all pay taxes to support airports and the air traffic control
system, but don’t begrudge the FBO for making a profit. You may need that
operator tomorrow, and if he’s out of business, you could be sorely
inconvenienced and pay a whole lot more elsewhere.


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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