Story ID: 560Signature
Signature To Launch New Pricing Transparency Tool
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Signature Flight Support is lintroducing new approaches to its customer offerings, including a new Trip Estimator Tool for pilots and schedulers.
Word Count: 384
Signature Flight Support is looking toward the future with new approaches to its customer offerings, including a Trip Estimator Tool for pilots and schedulers conducting pre-flight planning. Scheduled to launch in early 2020, the new tool will deliver retail fuel pricing, along with handling and infrastructure fees, allowing users to review the estimated costs of their trip before they take off.

“[Customers] enter their aircraft tail number, their destination, the date that they are planning to fly, up to seven days in advance, and we return the pricing information,” said Matthew Carroll, the service provider chain’s senior v-p of marketing. “We know this is something that many of our customers have been asking for and I think we're probably going to be one of the first to deliver something like this.”

Carroll cautioned the tool is an “estimator,” which will give the handling infrastructure information and alert users if there will be any other potential charges. “At this point, it would make sense for a customer to double-check that with the FBO,” he told AIN, adding the system will be continually improved from its introduction. “I hope that in the next 12 to 18 months you will get to the point where you make a reservation, you click through, you get confirmation, and you don’t even have to call the FBO,” said Carroll. “We’re looking at this in terms of what’s going to add value to the customer and we think this is just the right way for us to do business in that respect.”

The company also recently launched its SIGNet 2.0 FBO management platform, which allows its individual locations to better track, understand, and coordinate customer needs. This enables full coordination across all the entire FBO team.

“These are just examples of some of the things we are working on today, with more things coming down the road,” said Carroll.

Earlier this year, the BBA Aviation subsidiary (Booth N6110) signed an agreement with Uber Elevate as its first nationwide operations and on airport infrastructure partner for Uber Air. The company plans to apply its ground-handling expertise to support electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) passenger pickups and drop-offs at its airport locations, as well as designated purpose-built urban skyports.