|
|
Hi Mark, You should of let me know you were coming, I could of got you to
the Derby and the hotel, no problem. Atlantic is that bad without the
derby going on, unfortunately. You should of went to Bowman (KLOU) or
Clark Co. (KJVY) where they still have some sense (most of the time
anyway). Your not the only complaint I've heard, offering free tiedowns
for Derby turned out to be nothing but a dirty trick. Let me know if your
up this way again, if nothing else I can get you to the right place where
that won't happen, again. Fred
At 07:53 AM 5/10/2006 -0500, you wrote:
Not
rotary, but worth passing along anyway.
From: Lancair Mailing List
[
mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Stuart Seffern
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 7:29 AM
To: Lancair Mailing List
Subject: [LML] FBO Gouging
Warning!
I flew with a friend to the Kentucky Derby on Friday
to KSDF and blew a left main tire tube half way down the runway on
landing. I called Atlantic Aviation, the only FBO on the field, a
week before to ask about costs saying we were coming in for the Derby
weekend. They said there were no landing fees if you buy gas and
only a $5/night tie down. They also had free crew cars!
Great!
It took 1 hour to arrive and tow us off the runway by
using a hand dolly under the tire and the tug tied onto our tow bar
because they did not have the correct adaptor. Atlantic then wanted
to charge me $200 for the tow, without asking first. There were no
tie downs. We could have easily walked the airplane off the
runway with the small hand wheel dolly. Then they wanted $500 for
their maintenance shop just to take a look at it plus $75/hour to pull
the tire, replace the inner tube and reinstall the tire. Remember,
Atlantic has no competition on the airport.
Wait, it gets better! I respectfully declined
Atlantic Aviation's $800+ offer, and took the tire to the auto parts
store where I replaced the tube for 10 dollars, plus a 10 dollar tip to
Eric, the counter guy who let me use his work bench and tools for
free. I then found a gas station and filled the tire to what the
gage said was 45 psi and reinstalled the tire on the airplane with two
friends lifting up on the wing with their backs, no jack!
When the airplane was lowered the tire looked a bit
flat so I checked the pressure and found the actual pressure was 30
psi! I then walked over to Maintenance... five guys who were doing
nothing but standing around. I politely asked if they had a
portable air tank because I needed just about 10 pounds of pressure in
order to safely take off. They went into conference for ten minutes
while Jim and I stood there and then emerged to say that they would
"sell me the air" for $150!
So, It was back to the auto parts store to buy a $30
air tank, and the gas station for air.
Now we needed gas....
6.25/gal for 100LL!!... Also respectfully
declined, at this point not wanting to give them my credit card
number. We would stop on the way home if necessary!
Also, no free crew car or even a shuttle ride the 3
miles to the Churchill Downs. A Hertz Rental cost us $271.56 for a
27 hour rental with the AOPA Discount! (Glad I bet that $2 on
Barbarao to win the Derby!)
Of course there is no recourse except telling this
story. It is the best "Consumer Protection" we
have! Repost this wherever you like.
Buyer Beware! Atlantic Aviation's FBO at KSDF
is the worst case of gouging I have seen in 30 years of flying!
Thank god for experimentals that we can repair
ourselves!
Regards,
Stu Seffern
www.Lantzairflyers.com
sseffern@yahoo.com
|
|