The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is praising the Signature Aviation FBO network for adding transparency and reducing usage fees for operators of piston aircraft. The association has engaged in an ongoing campaign to add fairness and transparency to FBO fees for its membership demographic. With more than 200 locations in 27 different nations, Signature is the largest FBO chain in the world.
Under the new policy, piston aircraft visiting U.S. Signature facilities will pay no more than $30 for handling fees, which are waived with a fuel purchase of at least 10 gallons. Piston twins will pay a maximum of $60 in handling fees, waived by buying 30 gallons of fuel. The new fee structure represents a savings of up to 50%, compared with previous pricing policies, according to AOPA.
Signature has also taken the step of adding more avgas self-service fueling locations. Pricing at the self-serve pump is an average of $1 less per gallon than full-service fueling, according to AOPA.
There are 16 exceptions to the new handling-fee policy, AOPA reports. Those Signature facilities are the ones located at large international airports and do not participate in the program. In further fine print, piston aircraft operators are still subject to a nonwaivable $8 infrastructure fee at Signature FBOs and will be subject to any airport landing fees charged by the airport sponsors.
AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker said, “I am pleased Signature has heard us and is taking steps to embrace the general aviation community and the tens of thousands of piston aircraft we fly. AOPA will continue to advocate for fair and reasonable FBO pricing so that all sectors of our aviation ecosystem continue to be viable and strong.”
