"Dave" <bonanzaman@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:zJHtk.38648$ZE5.31248@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> Mike wrote:
>> "noname" <bonanzaman@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>
news:2e4604d9-1f96-43ea-a50f-50cbe3dc6ed6@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> I landed at Bridge****t air****t in Connecticut to pick up a friend and
>>> ended up at Atlantic Aviation Services. I was trying to get on the
>>> other side of the tarmac to where my friends plane was parked but it
>>> was blocked. The FBO guy waved me in to park and with nowhere else to
>>> go I parked. Before I got off the wing of my plane, I was told to pay
>>> ramp fees of $20.
>>> I told him I was going to leave and he insisted that I go inside and
>>> pay or I would get billed via N number. I went in and complained and
>>> they insisted again.
>>>
>>> I paid and commented on their policy which left them surprised.
>>>
>>> Is this legal to not have the ramp fees posted and demand payment even
>>> though I offered to leave their ramp immediately?
>>
>> Yes, it is legal. When you land at an air****t, you are essentially
>> patronizing a business and the responsibility is with you to
investigate
>> such things beforehand.
>>
>>> I think that it is entrampment by having the ramp blocked and the ramp
>>> rat guide me to parking.
>>
>> In this case, their fees were clearly posted in the official
publication
>> and the fee advertized was a landing fee, not a ramp fee. So you
>> incurred that cost as soon as your wheels hit the runway, not when you
>> taxied to the ramp. It may also be the air****t, and not the FBO who is
>> charging the fee. The FBO may just be the collection point.
>
> No the landing fees are totally different than the ramp fees. The
air****t
> charges the landing fees and the FBO charges the ramp fees.
The FBO is most likely the collection point for the landing fees.
> I was flying with an instructor who works from that air****t and was also
> totally appalled.
> I have yet to see anywhere where it is advertised that there is a $20.00
> ramp fee. If anybody can find one, please let me know and I'll accept
that
> I was taken by my own ignorance.
It's certainly not rare for FBOs to charge a fee for using their ramp,
especially if you are not buying fuel. Typically they are leasing that
ramp
space from the owner of the air****t, and if that space is limited you can
bet they are going to discourage non-customer aircraft from using it.
Your
instructor should have known that, especially if he's based there.
From the air****t diagram, there are several parking areas listed other
than
the ramp. Why didn't you use one of those? Even with FBOs that don't
charge a ramp fee, it's bad form to use their ramp if you're not a
customer
and there's other space available. The reason is because they are going
to
send someone out to park you, chalk your aircraft, put down the red
carpet,
and/or put cones around your aircraft because they assume you are a
customer.
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