AirNav Censorship
- Thread starter jdfrey1
- Start date
Your presentation of airnav must be different from what I get if I pull up an airport. There is a section with the information for the different FBOs, logo on the left, a list of their services and some ad-copy on why I should spend my money with them. On the right side of the ad is a link with the comments. There is no general comments section on the airport that I can see. If the FBO is run by the airport, it just has an entry for 'City of Gumblefunz airport operations' with the same layout as the ad for a commercial FBO.
I dont see that claim being made anywhere on airnavs website. They are no different from the yellowpages, an advertising directory.
It is the internet. They can't say anything that isn't true on the internet.
If you look at airnavs comments policy, that would actually be a violation of their TOS for the comments section and a business so slandered should be able to get comments posted by a competitor removed.
The thing to keep in mind with airnav is that this is not a big corporation but basically a guy with some rented server space and a secretary to handle all the griping from users and FBOs. Three people total or thereabouts. The lady you get the email responses, the IT guy and the onwer.
Goofy
Line Up and Wait
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Goofy
Davis really doesn't have an FBO to complain or delete a post. Actually they (the University) could probably care less....
They usually have pretty reasonable prices and were the local best the other day. They usually are one of the three or four lowest in the area with Rio Vista, McClellan, Nut Tree, and maybe Woodland. I've sent in updates to Airnav when they change, how else does Airnav get their input?
PS: currently EDU 5.41 vs. PAO 6.41.........!
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jdfrey1
Pre-Flight
Just a note that I received a phone call from Derek Mulder of Ace Aviation this afternoon asking me about my concerns. I described to him my recent issues that I have encountered there this year. I'm not sure if anything will change but I do commend him for taking the time to call and at least listen to my concerns. My feedback was by no means meant to slam Ace Aviation. It was critical but stated the facts of my recent experiences at 35D in an effort to 1) inform other pilots and 2) give the FBO feedback on how their service is being viewed. My bigger disappointment is with AirNav for allowing comments to be removed/disabled. As many of you have stated there may be many good reasons for this but it definitely lowers the credibility of the service in my opinion.
Goofy
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Goofy
Jeff, I copied them on these threads so they would realize there was a problem. Glad to hear it has the desired effect. Maybe in the future more could work with them directly before the forum bashing. But then maybe some of them needed it....!
jdfrey1
Pre-Flight
Please re-read my posts. I don't feel that I ever did any "forum bashing". My concern was that I originally posted my feedback on AirNav when comments were allowed by this FBO then when I went back a few weeks later I noticed that comments had been removed. By posting my comments on AirNav I was doing what I felt was justified to give the FBO feedback and inform other pilots of my experiences.
If you also notice from my posts my concern was with AirNav allowing removal of comments and I did also follow up with them directly with an email which I posted their reply here in the thread as well.
I admit that I'm quite puzzled by your description. When I pull up the airport (on their web site), I get a page with the FAA airport data, and the associated businesses are listed at the bottom. I don't see any ad copy in this area. I can then click on "read" or "write" under the "Comments" column.
AvWeb states, through their comment policy link at the top of each comment section, that the comment forum is provided as a service to the general aviation community (not to serve the advertisers). I did a cursory read of the entire policy, and didn't see any mention that FBOs or other businesses had editorial control over comments. Even AirNav doesn't appear to claim editorial control over comments, unless the comment violates the policy or where AirNav may elect to correct issues with spelling or grammar.
JKG
AdamZ
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Adam Zucker
It wasn't that blatant. The competing FBO was t posting the comments it was thier employees, mostly CFIs,so it was a bit hard to prove.
6. Comments about a business or organization are not allowed from representatives of a direct competitor.
Don't know if an employee counts as a 'representative', if I was running the aggrieved FBO I would certainly try to make that case.
You must have a different airnav than what I get if I just pull it up on a standard web browser.
Just go to the OSH airnav entry. The ad for Basler has their logo on the left, contact information and then in the center it states 'Oshkosh's LOWEST price for 100LL is found at Basler Flight Service! Self-service 100LL available 24 hours a day' If you click on the comments link, you get to their full-page ad that starts with
Basler Flight Service - Your Full Service FBO at OSH for Over 50 Years!
It is our mission to make your flight to and from OSH as smooth as possible, even when the air isn't!
We offer -
- full service 100LL and JetA
- self-service 100LL available 24 hours a day
- the LOWEST fuel prices at OSH
- aircraft parking and hangar
- catering, lodging, & ground transportation assistance
- and more!
Fly in to Basler Flight Service today, and see for yourself that 50 years of FBO experience really does make a difference!
You can reach us at 920-236-7827 or on the web at www.baslerflightservice.com
They are clearly presenting their services using their own corporate identity materials and ad copy. If this is not an advertisement, what is it then ??????
I did as well and was one of their "Airboss" customers for a while before bad customer service let me slip away.
Actually, that's not what appears on the main airport data page; that "ad copy" doesn't appear until you actually click on the FBO for more information. I have no issue with that. However, the comments section is separated from the FBO information and--according to AirNav's own policy--is presented as a forum for user comments about the FBO, not as part of the FBO's ad, and certainly not subject to editorial control by the FBO or for purposes of advertising. That would be consistent with most other sites which accept both advertising and user comments, and therefore inline with most end users' expectations, regardless of official policy. AirNav says one thing and does another--that's the issue.
JKG
The only place I can find a link to the user comments is if you click the link on the right side of the FBO ads.
Is there any other place on the airnav site that provides a link to the user comments ?
Attachments
denverpilot
Tied Down
Better, a real website that documents comments added and removed from Airnav. Track dates/times, and keep the posts available. Compare ratings in real time. That'd be fun.
Always a blast to use tech against bad ethics.
dell30rb
Final Approach
Woah, you use foreflight?
poadeleted21
Touchdown! Greaser!
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I love it. Especially since AOPA ****canned their useful flight planner. I don't use it in flight.
Dr. O
Pattern Altitude
Hmmm.
I love AIRNAV.
It gets me the airport information I need when I want it.
AND it's free.
I love AIRNAV.
It gets me the airport information I need when I want it.
AND it's free.
RV10flyer
Pattern Altitude
I suggest you use Foreflight. There are NO comments presently listed for 35D.
Clip4
Touchdown! Greaser!
Any FBO can fail at providing good customer service on any given day. When this happens and a negative comment is posted on Airnav, the FBO should simply post the following response, "XYZ Aviation strives to provide the best customer service possible and values customer comments. The poster has been contacted to address their experiance with our company".
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Doggtyred
En-Route
Its their business and they conduct it how they see fit. You can use it or not. Thats the beauty of free market enterprise.