Visiting Bournemouth

[foghorn]

Any tips for reducing the inevitable cost?

Is it possible to be handled by any of the clubs? (AIP suggests not)

Anyone got a rough idea of 3 pax handling for your run of the mill spamcan?

I need to stop off in that area twice in a few weeks, HH is by far the most convenient (and has IAPs if it cr*ps out) however I will seriously consider Old Sarum or Compton Abbas if HH is going to be prohibitive on cost.

cheers!
foggy.

[Diamond 'katana' geezer]

Last time I landed at bomo and stayed over night it was £47.31

I think I was charged extra for arriving after 6pm though. We have students do the qxc's into bomo and a straightforward landing is about £23.

You could try Bournemouth Flying Club. They used to let you pay the landing fee there and park for cheaper. But space is very very limited now, and they've probably stopped that practice. I haven't heard of them letting anyone park for a few years now. The other ppl school is situated exactly where the GA parking area is so they are of no help unfortunately.

As for Compton; It is £8 to land and £5 for overnight parking, but a taxi will set you back a hell of a lot. It's about a 45 min drive to the centre of bomo, and that's really going some.

Phone Compton though, and ask about the 'hire' car. It is available FREE (just fill it up with petrol when your finished) to anyone who wants to get about. However, you need to have certain insurance and licence requirements. I can't remember the requirements now, and they might have even got rid of it, as it wasn't very well utilised.

As for Sarum, I’m not sure. Is about a 30-45 min drive to bomo from Salisbury.

Hope that helps.

[foghorn]

Thank Geezer, it's rather complex as I live in the area, the a/c with 2 pax in it will be staying overnight and picking me up outbound on a jolly (arriving after 6pm) and dropping me off on the way back.

Even though driving to Compton or Sarum is not a hassle for me I think the insurance of the ILS is worth paying the handling at this time of the year.

I'll give Bournemouth Handling a call tomorrow to see how much it'll be.

[Laundryman]

If you find out anything interesting Foghorn don't forget to give us all the benefit of your new found knowledge, please.

[hardcase]

On the 1st Sept 2005 Bournemouth Airport changed the pricing policy for GA/light aircraft landing fee's, i have seen the document myself, trying a school is in vain, as the school will be billed on the new pricing policy so therefore will offer no concessions. You will have to pay, unfortunately.

I just hope that as B'mouth gets bigger with Jet traffic, we don't go down the same way as southampton.

[Warped Factor]

I investigated this a few months back when taking a PA28 there and the only way suggested to me involved the telling of porky pies.

That didn't appeal to me so just coughed up the dosh.

WF.

[Heliplane]

I tried to go into Bournemouth yesterday (Sunday) in an Arrow - usual cup of tea jolly. I initially spoke to a handling agent that said it would be £60. He explained Bournemouth's new pricing policy for 1-3 tonne aircraft and surmised that the airport was trying to keep GA out.

I then spoke to one of the flying clubs who said if we paid cash the fee would be £38.

All seemed a bit excessive to me so I went to Lydd instead - nice new ATC, great runway and £10 landing fee.

[Crashed&Burned]

Bournemouth is like many smallish airfields in transition from being pro GA s to being indifferent or even anti.

All airfields go this way when they get a few scheduled airline services; suddenly GA seems trivial and rather an irritant. To be discouraged if at all possible.

Oxford was a bit this way when it was busy with professional pilot trainees. Now the market has decamped to sunnier climes, they have reduced their landing fee to a fiver and are trying desperately not to become the latest Thames Valley housing estate.

Bournemouth, Southampton and soon Plymouth and Exeter are to be avoided by GA, in my opinion. Lots more interesting places to go.

C&B

[hingey]

C&B,

Exeter still has very reasonable landing fees (£7.50 single, £12 twin) and a considerable amount of private flying taking place, though most of the light a/c are PPL, CPL or IR training (I think).

I agree with you about Plymouth though. Landings are about £20 for a single. Security aren't very GA friendly either. Last time I asked if I could go onto the apron to fly my aeroplane home, they asked why! Because they have a few Dash 8's in and out every day, suddenly they're Heathrow! Phoning up to book in, I was told they were going to be quite busy as a commercial flight was due in, and asked if I was sure I wanted to come!

h

[UniGirl]

Prices for BOH aren't the cheapest it has to be said, but with such a diverse range of traffic it can make an interesting trip.

Bournemouth Handling charges £15.35 + VAT per tonne (landing fee) and £10 + VAT handling per tonne, parking is free for 2hrs and then charged per 24 hours after that. Staff can help out with taxis, hotels and flight planning, good internet access and an AFTN too.

Hope that helps

:ok:

[Chilli Monster]

What difference to the level of handling does the weight of the aircraft make?

It doesn't matter how you dress it up - the reality for most people is that the landing fee is £25.35 + VAT per tonne, of which their cut is 39.4% - I think that's a more reasonable way to think of it.

[FullyFlapped]

Prices were pretty high the last time I was in, and though I can't remember exactly, UniGirl's quote sounds about right ... ATC were reasonably friendly ... taxying took absolutely ages and involved a cross-country exercise ... the trip around the Needles, the surrounding scenery and indeed the young lady in the Potrakabin (sorry, Bournemouth Executive Handling ;) ) were all absolutely lovely (that you, UniGirl ? :D )

FF :ok:

[UniGirl]

What difference to the level of handling does the weight of the aircraft make?

Well it is an arguable point but generally speaking the fact that the weight of the aircraft is that much more would indicate the aircraft being that much larger, which in turn would use up more space, carry more passengers and is more labour intensive with regard to looking after the customer. :D

[robin]

Hingey

I don't know where you got the Exeter landing fees from, but you must be working from an old 'menu'

It is a lot more than £7.50, and you also have to watch out for the massive late-landing charge (esp on a Saturday when the airfield 'shuts' to GA an hour earlier than normal)

Add to that, Exeter has not signed up to the Strasser agreement for weather diversions, and it is certainly not a friendly place for GA

[Yankee]

There is just no justification for charging handling fees or for that matter landing fees for light aircraft based on a weight formula of a tone or part there of, the cut off points are just too large. Charging by the number of seats or if its apron size that is an issue then by wing span may be more appropriate. It costs exactly the same to handle a AA5A as it does a AA5B, what's the difference, both exactly the same size, and I mean exactly, one 998kg the other 1024kg on which you would be charged twice the amount. Same goes for the TB9 and TB10 and probably many others. With the same number of people on board in these types of aircraft this charging policy can not be justified at all, but then again they don't have to justify it, just rip you off big time.

[Chilli Monster]

Well it is an arguable point but generally speaking the fact that the weight of the aircraft is that much more would indicate the aircraft being that much larger, which in turn would use up more space, carry more passengers and is more labour intensive with regard to looking after the customer

What utter rot!

A turbine helicopter has a MTOW often twice that of a comparable sized GA aircraft, with the same size of footprint and the same number of people on board - how do you reconcile double the handling fee?

A Citation has 3 times the MTOW of your average large'ish twin (Aztec) but will probably have the same number of people and a parking footprint not much larger (20%) - how do you reconcile treble the handling fee?

Unigirl - your argument falls, very unceremoniously, flat on its face.

[A and C]

A few years back the fuel at BOH was much cheaper than at most airfields in the south.......... you can't do any thing about the landing/parking fees but you can ofset the cost by buying as much cheap fuel as you can. I would turn up with 40 lts in the tanks and fill up and almost save the landing fee.