Javelin,
Yet we go to some airfields in the UK, they snarl as you land, snatch a landing fee off you, won't discount it if you fuel or buy food and then snarl as you leave.
Why not vote with you feet and go elsewhere? I spent 4 years flying a Piper Cub and didnt pay a landing fee of over £5.00...because I chose where I wanted to go and restricted myself to small airfields and farmers strips..I still had a fantastic time doing so.
And why should airfields discount you for providing fuel? Often the fuel is provided by other companies who never get to see the landing fees....Same goes for the food. You dont get a discount for food at a garage because you have filled your tank with Petrol!
The only reason these airfields continue to charge exorbitant amounts is because people will continue to fly into them. Do bear in mind that if somebody is paying £100-200+ per hour, then £20 on top of that isnt going to hit them in the wallet that hard, and the top dollar airfields know this. This is why Biggin Hill, Oxford, Fairoaks etc charge high prices....Light GA visitors are the least of their worries; infact, maybe they even hike the prices up to deter the light GA traffic?
You dont see many Piper Cubs parked on the aprons of these airfields!