Story ID: 
OpsGroup Special Events Tracker Outlines Upcoming Fees
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Travelers to airports near major events can’t avoid the high costs involved
Word Count: 635
Aeronautical information provider OpsGroup is asking members to provide updates to its events fee tracker, while pointing out that the only major FBO chains to publish special event fees online are Signature and Atlantic Aviation.
“Sadly, the other big FBO chains do not,” according to OpsGroup, including “the likes of Jet Aviation, Sheltair, Million Air, etc. As an OpsGroup member, this is where you can really help out! If you’ve been quoted $$$ to fly somewhere (especially an FBO other than Signature/Atlantic), let us know by filling out this quick form.”
Generally, it’s up to pilots and operators to communicate with FBOs to learn about special event fees and other constraints before showing up, and business jet pilots are well aware of this. While some FBOs make it easy to determine the fees by publishing them on their websites, as do Atlantic and Signature, others may require a phone call ahead of a trip.
AIN viewed some of the fees for upcoming events, such as the Orange Bowl in Miami at the end of December and the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in February.
Jet Aviation is not charging a special event fee for the Orange Bowl. The Signature special event fees for Miami (KMIA) and Miami-Opa Locka (KOPF) during the Orange Bowl for a medium-sized jet are $2,070 and $1,195, respectively. Atlantic KOPF will charge a facility fee of $1,049, but that isn’t different than its normal facility fee.
The big daddy of special event fees comes during the Super Bowl, which is being held on February 8. Although the closest public airport to Levi’s Stadium is San Jose International (KSJC), the stadium is equidistant from Moffett Federal Airfield, a private airport that is available with prior permission required (PPR).
At KSJC, Atlantic is charging a facility fee of $1,224 plus a special event fee of $12,240 for a Challenger 300. Buying 404 gallons of fuel eliminates the facility fee but not the special event fee. Signature KSJC is charging $6,890 for the Challenger 300, but the company also has FBOs at San Francisco (KSFO) and Oakland (KOAK), where the fee is $4,685, and Hayward (KHWD), much lower at $2,070. Signature’s highest fee for the Super Bowl at KSJC would be for a widebody jet, at $39,365.
For those who prefer a less crowded but nearly stadium-adjacent airport, they might want to consider lightly used Moffett Field (KNUQ) and apply for a PPR with Planetary Ventures, which runs the private, federally owned airfield. Jet-A is available, and the facility is accepting aircraft for the Super Bowl. The total event fee is $15,000, not dependent on size, and there are also landing, ramp, and remain overnight (RON) fees, which do vary by aircraft size. For example, Challenger 300 fees include a landing fee ($237.55), ramp fee ($273.79), and RON fee ($123.48). The ramp fee can be waived with a minimum fuel purchase.
Whether or not these fees are fair is debatable. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) pointed out that the FAA—in Order 5190.6B-Airport Compliance Manual—does limit how much airport sponsors can charge aeronautical users of the airport, but it also states that airports must be as self-sustaining as possible.
“An important caveat to the self-sustaining principle is provided in paragraph 17.9,” AOPA explained. “The first two sentences of that paragraph state: ‘Consistent with Grant Assurance 22, Economic Nondiscrimination, charges for aeronautical use of the airport must be reasonable. This reasonableness requirement takes precedence over the requirement for a self-sustaining rate structure with respect to aeronautical users.’ AOPA understands this to mean that if an airport’s costs are so high that they cannot be recovered by charging reasonable fees, then the FAA does not expect the airport to be self-sustaining.”