Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
Yeah, but you have work Carhartts and you have Carhartts to wear to church up there.... besides, I never got a crew car at Napaskiak or Chevak... the fbo was usually a snow go pulling a sled....
Crew cars only for "professional" pilots?
- Thread starter BigBadLou
- Start date
Yeah, but you have work Carhartts and you have Carhartts to wear to church up there.... besides, I never got a crew car at Napaskiak or Chevak... the fbo was usually a snow go pulling a sled....
JasonM
Pattern Altitude
I have yet to find an FBO that would flat out deny a crew car, but I have been requested to buy some fuel or only use it for 1/2 hour due to others that will need it. I can understand why they want to keep the jet guys happy, but to make a rule based on how it is registered makes no sense at all.
I've never been denied a car.
The FBO at Sugarland?
Guys, it's Sugar Land. Two words. Land of sugar, home of the Imperial Sugar Company.
Pronounced "Sugar [slight pause] Land," not "Shoogerlin."
And I am disappointed to hear all this about them - I've always been treated well there (though I admit I never asked for a crew car, as my sisterin-law and brother-in-law live there and pick us up).
Also, always good service at West Houston (KIWS).
Nor have I, including the ridiculously friendly outfit, Jet Center, at Love Field.
Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
woodchucker
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woodchucker
In my limited experience as a spam-can driver, I have found that if the FBO advertises having rental car service then might as well forget a crew car. That's a very limited data set though. I've only used crew cars twice. Once was a planned trip where I called ahead and it was a tiny little place in the middle of nowhere, and the second was an unscheduled stop due to weather. My wife and I were stuck there for a number of hours, but the fbo guy insisted we take a car and go grab a bite to eat while we waited. It was a wonderful place to visit. You know, bunch of crusty old people just hanging around... one older gentlemen who was in the middle of rebuilding some old plane sharing 1950's stories. And the fbo guy told me how he used to fly some mafia guy around when he was cutting his teeth as a commercial pilot. Definitely will stop there again.
Captain
Final Approach
Lots of these places wouldn't even sell 100LL if they didn't have to as a condition of the lease. From their perspective they get to deal with pilots complain about every charge and fee and the cost of everything and then pay their $53.14 for 3 gal per side.
Now they get to tell the jet pilot who just dropped $8K that the crew car just went out and should be back in two hours or so. It's simple math....don't be mad...and you're complaining about a courtesy service.
Obviously everyone is free to speak with their Wallet, just don't be surprised if the FBO don't care.
Now they get to tell the jet pilot who just dropped $8K that the crew car just went out and should be back in two hours or so. It's simple math....don't be mad...and you're complaining about a courtesy service.
Obviously everyone is free to speak with their Wallet, just don't be surprised if the FBO don't care.
brien23
Cleared for Takeoff
Only if some guy in a C-150 did not take if for the day.
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Bob Noel
A watch the size of a dinner plate is no longer a requirement?
Unit74
Final Approach
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Unit74
Only Brietlings count. They can be substituted for a lanyard/ID card but only if the wearer has some sort of bad Asz shades kicked up on his head and look like that dude in the Bose print ad.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
That will only get worse once the two biggest gougers on the FBO scene become one.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
Isn't that THE standard pilot uniform up there?
Art VanDelay
Pattern Altitude
I recently called an FBO at a planned destination to reserve a crew car for about an hour and was surprised by the answer that I do not qualify because my airplane is not registered under a corporation.
Trying to analyze this strange-sounding requirement, I can only surmise that the FBO does not want every GA Joe Schmoe to wear out their Cadillac or Jaguar and that only fancy pilots in uniforms are worthy of the car keys. (again, this is only a WAG)
So would it help if I landed in my beat-up ol' rusty Cherokee, climbed out and walked up to the CSRs at the counter, asking for a crew car dressed like this?
(I wonder if they would bother counting the stripes
Aaaaaaand discuss.
That picture won't cut it amigo. Everyone knows them flight level flyers can't have facial hair - oxygen masks will not seal properly.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
I've seen it a bit differently. If the FBO has rental cars and crew cars, they tend to try to maintain set time limits on the crew cars. If you need a car for more than an hour or two, they will push you to a rental.
The big exception to that is Texas Jet at FTW. They have a whole fleet of crew cars and rentals and they will farm out the crew cars first even for overnights until they are all gone. If you show up after the crew cars are all checked out, the CSRs will apologize profusely, and then offer up a rental.
You've met Henning?
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Pilawt
Let the jet guys have the Jag and the Escalade ... I'm happy as a clam if there's a clapped-out '91 Lumina with the keys in it out by the dumpster.
Captain
Final Approach
Let the jet guys have the Jag and the Escalade ... I'm happy as a clam if there's a clapped-out '91 Lumina with the keys in it out by the dumpster.
jet guys are happy as a clam in beaters too (if that's all they got)
Fastglas
Pre-takeoff checklist
I flew into Sugarland a little over a month ago after having spoken to one of the FBO staff the day before on the phone and was assured of access to a crew car. After landing, of course, I was told my plane needed to have been registered under a corporation to use the crew car. Obviously this wasn't a good situation for me having already landed... a situation that I don't think the folks at the FBO understood terribly well. She claimed cars could only be used by corporate owned plane pilots due to insurance reasons. Yes, it was clearly a BS reason as a way to keep GA vagabonds off their ramp. By the time all was done and about three people involved in the catastrophe, I ended up getting the okay once I was able to demonstrate that I owned a company.
Needless to say, I'm not going to be landing in Sugarland anytime soon (on purpose).
Needless to say, I'm not going to be landing in Sugarland anytime soon (on purpose).
How do they tell how the plane is registered?
MichiPilot
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could it be insurance related? maybe they think a "corporation" will have a policy covering the car?
Doubtful. Why would a corporation owning the aircraft necessarily have anything to do the person driving the car? The illusion here is that the corporation is actually operating the aircraft. Further, I suspect they're better off trying to collect from an individual driver's policy than trying to ascribe liability to a corporation for one of their employees.
I've been creamed by a moving van once who was assigned fault for the accident and was cited by the local Sheriff. I don't think my insurer ever was able to subrogate against the company's insurance.
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Pilawt
The rule doesn't have to be logical. It's like housing discrimination -- they take one look at you and if they like what they see, you get the car. If they don't, they quote a "rule" that "justifies" their refusal.
Brad Z
Final Approach
This brings up a good point about the difference between a courtesy car and a crew car. Although the terms are used interchangeably, a courtesy car is typically found at airports as an incentive to encourage pilots to spend money in the local community. These are typically retired municipal vehicles, cop cars, etc. Some of them have quite a bit of character. They are offered freely to all who fly in, particularly in areas that lack taxis or rental cars.
Alternatively crew cars are generally offered by FBOs as an incentive to flight crews who are waiting on passengers. As the name suggests, crew cars are not intended for passengers, who typically have ground transportation arranged for them. Crew cars are for the pilots sitting around the FBO waiting for the passengers to return. While passengers choose the destination, the crew often chooses (or at least has an influence on) selecting the FBO, so offering a nice crew car is a way to attract business, since the crew isn't concerned about fuel prices as much as free amenities (like a Jag to make a lunch run in).
That said, many FBOs are happy to give out the crew car to GA pilots to make a quick trip. But as others mentioned, they risk not having the car there when a highly profitable crew is told its not available. As always, YMMV.
Alternatively crew cars are generally offered by FBOs as an incentive to flight crews who are waiting on passengers. As the name suggests, crew cars are not intended for passengers, who typically have ground transportation arranged for them. Crew cars are for the pilots sitting around the FBO waiting for the passengers to return. While passengers choose the destination, the crew often chooses (or at least has an influence on) selecting the FBO, so offering a nice crew car is a way to attract business, since the crew isn't concerned about fuel prices as much as free amenities (like a Jag to make a lunch run in).
That said, many FBOs are happy to give out the crew car to GA pilots to make a quick trip. But as others mentioned, they risk not having the car there when a highly profitable crew is told its not available. As always, YMMV.
Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
Excellent point.
To my knowledge, we are the only hotel in America with a courtesy car for pilots -- and we've had them get ****y when it was unavailable when they were spending a whopping $69.95 for our cheapest room.
That's the problem with creating an expectation of service. When it can't be met, you've turned a positive into a negative.
Agree.
It would never occur to me to expect a crew car as a GA pilot out for a hamburger.
(I may, however, have been offered one once.)
Worst one I ever had was in Douglas Wyoming. Had a stick shift and it was stuck in first. Also smoked like John Wayne. And a hole in the muffler. So here I was roaring around Douglas, smoking tailpipe, top speed of 30 in first, looking for a resturant. The local police saw me and laughed their asses off. Hah hah, real funny guys....
Anthony
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Anthony
I was given a hard time at Atlantic City International (ACY) for keeping he crew car for over an hour. I used to fly there regularly for work, and to see family. I always bought a decent amount of fuel. Never went back there again.
Did the FBO ask you to keep it less than an hour?
Captain
Final Approach
To date I've killed two crew cars.
One was an ops van with the bubble light. Whoever parked it pressed the foot parking brake like two clicks. I lt rolled normally and I drove off to get food. Fast forward 5 miles and smoke was rolling off us. I figured it out but the brakes were shot. That was Napa Valley.
The other was an old county car we had for the night. I pulled out of the hotel, didn't clear and was hit in the front panel. It was my fault and I was cited. The cop told me he used to drive it. The other driver went to the hospital. It was a pretty soft hit, maybe 20 mph, and I heard she's fine.
So, I've had thousands and killed one and maimed another. I'd guess that's over a dozen years or so...
One was an ops van with the bubble light. Whoever parked it pressed the foot parking brake like two clicks. I lt rolled normally and I drove off to get food. Fast forward 5 miles and smoke was rolling off us. I figured it out but the brakes were shot. That was Napa Valley.
The other was an old county car we had for the night. I pulled out of the hotel, didn't clear and was hit in the front panel. It was my fault and I was cited. The cop told me he used to drive it. The other driver went to the hospital. It was a pretty soft hit, maybe 20 mph, and I heard she's fine.
So, I've had thousands and killed one and maimed another. I'd guess that's over a dozen years or so...
Gubbins
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gone for good
This is why I don't tend to use the crew car if there is an alternative because I don't want to be accused of abusing the system or being a moocher. Let the penniless professional pilots have it instead
Some places (in the back end of nowhere) there is no choice and you have to use the courtesy car but those places don't tend to be catering for the jet guys anyway. If there is a rental to be honest I'll just pay the 30 $'s or whatever it is and get a rental. That way I can take my time. Since Uber became popular, these days I will check to see if I'm in an uber area and just do that instead. The whole thing of begging for a crew car just doesn't seem worth it to me to save $20-30.
BigBadLou
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Lou
This is why I don't tend to use the crew car if there is an alternative because I don't want to be accused of abusing the system or being a moocher. Let the penniless professional pilots have it instead
If there is a rental to be honest I'll just pay the 30 $'s or whatever it is and get a rental. That way I can take my time. Since Uber became popular, these days I will check to see if I'm in an uber area and just do that instead. The whole thing of begging for a crew car just doesn't seem worth it to me to save $20-30.
My intent is not to abuse the system but if I have to shell out $35 to visit their airport, I'd prefer to borrow the car if it is available and return it with a full tank and thank them very nicely for supporting the pilot community.
If that is not what they're about, I might be misunderstanding their purpose.
I've had many great experiences at other airports and loved the way they supported aviation (and let them know how much their efforts are appreciated). I wish all airports were about aviation and not merely profits.
Tristar
Pattern Altitude
We come across problems like flying to the same airports on a regular,sometimes weekly, basis. Each one so close we either don't need fuel because our next stop is home or the minimum required won't fit in the plane! I can't take 100 gallons when I only used 50 to get here! We still get charged ramp fees or refused courtesy cars despite being a "local" and regular charter.
#CrewCarLivesMatter
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Scott@KTYR
Anthony
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Anthony
They gave me no time limitations, and I had used the car for over an hour several times in the past, then one day, out of the blue, it was a problem, and they were rude about it.
Gotcha. I agree if they wanted you to keep the car for up to an hour they should have said something, however, not saying you did this but I would never take a crew car for over 2 hours out of courtesy of others.
The Net Jet planes are all registered to "Net Jets Sales", a corporation.
Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
I have shared courtesy cars before. One of the best lunches was at Galveston, Tx and 4 planes landed. All wanted a car. There were 6 people so we all climbed into the 1977 Ford Station Wagon and went out to lunch together. We all chipped in and put gas in the tank.
Another time in Cincinnati, the company did not have a courtesy car. The manager told us there is a bright red Ford pickup parked right outside the door, keys in it. We took the first bright red Ford pickup we saw and had lunch.
On the return, there was a police car at the airport. The policeman was talking to a couple of mechanic looking people, who quickly pointed at something in our direction. We parked as the group quickly approached. Long story short, we got into the wrong bright red Ford pickup with the keys in it... After much explaining and the manager backing our story up, everyone, including the owner of the bright red Ford pickup had a good laugh.
Another time in Cincinnati, the company did not have a courtesy car. The manager told us there is a bright red Ford pickup parked right outside the door, keys in it. We took the first bright red Ford pickup we saw and had lunch.
On the return, there was a police car at the airport. The policeman was talking to a couple of mechanic looking people, who quickly pointed at something in our direction. We parked as the group quickly approached. Long story short, we got into the wrong bright red Ford pickup with the keys in it... After much explaining and the manager backing our story up, everyone, including the owner of the bright red Ford pickup had a good laugh.
