Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: You should take the time to ask about private flight landing fees at Asheville Regional Airport. I was there last fall dropping some friends off in a twin-engine prop plane. I was there about 25 minutes and was charged $375. They said I could have waived the fee by buying 100 gallons of gas that was more than double the cost of nearby airports. I checked the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and that site shows they’ve had numerous complains about price gouging. Can you check to see if this operator is in line with what other Fixed Base Operators charge?

My answer: To be fair, they do throw in a free wheel chocking at that price.

Real answer: First of all, it's important to note that a private company, Signature Flight, runs this terminal and fueling operation, which is for private pilots in civilian planes. It's at the end of the airport closest to I-26, not by the main terminal.

Signature also operates at other airports, but it seems to generate a lot of complaints at Asheville Regional in particular.

The AOPA told me: "We have 36 complaints in the AOPA database about Signature Flight Support at AVL, putting this FBO in our top 10 complaint FBOs in the U.S. Most complaints focus on Signature’s monopolization of ramp space for itinerant general aviation and very high fees for handling, etc."

Jim Coon, AOPA’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs said via email that the Signature chain "has received the lion’s share of complaints from pilots during the three years AOPA has been working to fix this problem.

"In many cases, this company takes advantage of being the only option for pilots, and it’s a sad situation," Coon said. "At a minimum, AOPA believes businesses on airports should be completely transparent with all fees and prices so pilots can make an informed decision when deciding which airport to fly to."

"The business model that Signature employs is, in the end, going to hurt aviation, it’s going to hurt Asheville, and AOPA strongly believes the airport has a lot to offer," Coon continued. "Greed shouldn’t get in the way, but unfortunately that is what we are hearing from pilots about this particular company."

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Signature disputes this assessment.

Chuck Buckland, general manager of Signature's operation at Asheville Regional, makes the case that their fees are in line with similar operations.

Airnav.com, which bills itself as "the pilot's window into a world of aviation information," provides pricing information on numerous airports. I scanned through it, and Signature's fuel prices at AVL, for instance, do come in higher than other local airports, but those are much smaller facilities.

When I checked, the Asheville operation, called KAVL, had a self-service price of $5.13 a gallon and $7.27 for full service aviation fuel for piston-engine aircraft, and $6.98 for jet fuel. The Rutherford County Airport was charging $4.60 and $3.80, respectively, while the Greenville, South Carolina, Jet Center was charging $4.79 and $5.50.

Buckland noted that the surrounding airports listed on the Airnav site include Rutherford County (KFQD), Jackson County (24A), Greenville Spartanburg International (KGSP), Greenville Downtown (KGMU) and Pickens County, S.C. (KLQK).

"Of the five airports listed that are nearby Asheville, three of them are county-run airports that have limited hours, no control tower, shorter runway and limited services and facilities," Buckland said. "The Greenville Downtown Airport is owned by the Greenville Airport Commission with the Greenville Jet Center as the FBO that operates on a shorter runway, and is not open 24 hours."

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Greenville Spartanburg International Airport is the most similar to Asheville Regional, Buckland said, noting that Cerulean Aviation is the FBO there and is operated by the Airport Authority. Signature Flight Support and Cerulean Aviation provides fuel services to both General Aviation (GA) and Commercial Airlines, as well as Avgas, hangars, parking, and ground handling.

"We have established our fee structure based on several factors to include, but not limited to: the services we provide, facility amenities, hours of operation, equipment used, staffing, safety regulations, regulatory compliance, and the cost of operating at the Asheville Regional Airport," Buckland said. "Because Asheville offers many tourist attractions and is a regional business hub, we are fortunate to be considered a destination location."

Further, Signature categorizes its fees "into aircraft type and size based on calculations of fuel capacity, cargo capacity and square footage."

"We feel we offer very competitive fuel programs and the ability to 'waive' certain handling charges with a minimum fuel uplift," Buckland said. "Our fee structure is in line with many similar size and scope FBO operators."

"Although I understand the customer’s point and comment, it is not as easy to lump several airports and FBO’s into the 'same' category in a broad geographic area," Buckland continued. "Each has its own set of unique operating guidelines based on some of the factors described. Our staffing, facilities, equipment and amenities are required to be open and available 24 hours per day regardless of the amount of time a customer visits our location."

I also touched base with Asheville Regional spokeswoman Tina Kinsey, who pointed out Signature "is a private business that leases space, and the airport has limited operational control over their pricing structure."

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Lack of competition may also be a factor here.

"In the past, the airport was served by two FBOs, and at this time, there is one FBO at AVL," Kinsey said. "We do not have — and cannot have — an exclusive agreement with any FBO, and as AVL continues to grow and more aeronautical land becomes available for development, there will be a stronger opportunity for a second FBO to locate here."

Kinsey agreed with Buckland's assessment that FBOs "that operate at commercial service airports cannot be compared to much smaller general aviation facilities," Kinsey said. "When comparing rates to other similarly situated facilities, they fall within market norms."

I also touched base with Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The FAA investigated an informal complaint about this matter in 2017/2018, and found the airport to be in compliance with its grant assurances, which are specific requirements for airports that accept federal grants," Bergen said.

She also provided a link to the FAA's Q&A on fixed base operator pricing: https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_compliance/media/QAs-FBO-Consolidation-Pricing-final.pdf

"Bottom line is that FAA does not regulate FBO pricing," she said.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com