Flying to KEYW

J

JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
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It has been a couple of years since I have flown down there. We are taking the 172 and a friend will be taking his Diamond DA40. I read the Airnav reviews for the FBO and they were not to great, but I realize that people that have a complaint are more likely to post than someone that has a good experience.

And there is precious little information on the web about the FBO itself (Island Flying Service).
I know the fuel is high. Does anyone know what their ramp charges or overnight fees are for small (4 seat) airplanes? Do they waive any charges with fuel purchase? Do they provide any hotel transportation?

I don't mind reasonable fees but I recently got hit with some really high overnight fees. The ramp fees were often waived, at least for one night with a top-off of $8 fuel so I like to check first. If it is too bad we might only take one plane, but that would be very tight. Or maybe leave one in Marathon and go the rest of the way in the other.
 
I flew to Key West in December. I had read about the bus service so we did our best to figure out the bus schedule at the airport but the bus didn't show up. So we ended up with the 4 in our party paying 8 bucks apiece for the taxi to Duval Street. I might consider a car rental next time. I didn't think the fuel was too bad at the time considering it was a place that someone would want to go. The FBO was friendly and helpful. I did not spend the night so I can't help you with overnight fees. I don't think they charged me anything to stay for a few hours but I did top off the fuel.
 
I just called and spoke to a helpful Customer Service Rep.
There is a $30/night fee (for a C172), of which half will be waived with 10 gallons fuel.
One fuel purchase and the ramp fee is cut in half for the whole stay.
That sounds reasonable for a monopoly in a place like Key West.,
 
Really, the best way to do it is to say in Marathon and rent a car for a scenic derive to Key West.

I don't really think Marathon deletes bad reviews because I can't imagine why they would have any. They are first rate.

What we did was fly into Marathon, they drove us to the nearby hotel. There were three car rental companies within walking distance of the hotel and of the airport. We rented a car, spent the day in Key West, drove back to our Marathon hotel.

The next day we flew around Key West but did not land.

My wife and I had flown on a multi-day trip from St. Louis in a C150.
 
I've flown commercially into Key West so I can't vouch for the FBO. Can't say I much care for whoever operates the American Airlines operation on that side. They pitched our bags off the ATR42 because it was overweight but never bothered to actually tell us at baggage claim what was going on despite a dozen of us mysteriously missing bags. Then they had one idiot who couldn't even figure out how to turn on the computer (I finally punched the power button for him) to take our contact information.

On the other hand, it is only a two mile walk down the beach from the airport terminal to the south end of Duval street.
 
I know a couple of people that worked there and one guy that owned a business there. They all acknowledge the issues about poor service. They say that nobody lives in Key West because of their work ethic. There are some people that work hard because they love their jobs, but they are usually fisherman. And we are not going there to be waited on. We are going to there to enjoy a beautiful flight and to relax, so as long as the bars are open, we are good.
 
tinerj said:
Really, the best way to do it is to say in Marathon and rent a car for a scenic derive to Key West.

I don't really think Marathon deletes bad reviews because I can't imagine why they would have any. They are first rate.

What we did was fly into Marathon, they drove us to the nearby hotel. There were three car rental companies within walking distance of the hotel and of the airport. We rented a car, spent the day in Key West, drove back to our Marathon hotel.

The next day we flew around Key West but did not land.

My wife and I had flown on a multi-day trip from St. Louis in a C150.
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I have done that too, the Marathon drive to Key West is about an hour and is a beautiful drive. Rental was easy and I thought moderately priced.
 
+1 for Marathon. Keep in mind that parking a car could be an issue in Key West.
 
jonnyjetprop said:
+1 for Marathon. Keep in mind that parking a car could be an issue in Key West.
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if you like to park really near to where you are going parking could be an issue. If you can handle parking meters and a walk then there are plenty of places to park in my experience.
 
Some of the rental places will drop scooters off for you if you call ahead. Fuel is under $5 at fmy and stop by fridays for free hot dogs at base ops. Last trip we got stuck at keyw for the day because we waited for winds to calm down. 30g35 direct crosswind was intimidating!
 
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