Landing Fees - Value for Money ?.

[Leezyjet]

Just wondered what the thoughts of other were on the seemingly expensive fees charged by some airfields in the UK.

Flew to Cambridge the other week as a pax with a friend, and I offered as one normally does to pay the landing fee. I almost fell over when the chap told me the price - £22 !!!. We were in a Warrior and only stayed around 40 mins - we didn't even get a cup of tea or a biscuit either !.

Went to another small g/a airfield in the middle of no-where and got charged £15 for a 152, but got a "free" drink and a few biscuits this time.

Yet I have been to other fields here in the UK who only charge £5.

So just why are some fields in the UK so expensive ?.

[bookworm]

Flew to Cambridge the other week as ... I almost fell over when the chap told me the price - £22 !!!.
...
So just why are some fields in the UK so expensive ?.

Not sure it's fair to pick out Cambridge. How many fields with 2000 m of tarmac and an ILS charge less than £22?

Also bear in mind that Cambridge airport occupies land that's probably worth £500 million. At 5% pa service of capital, that means the cost of the land alone is about £50 per minute. How long did you occupy the runway for?

By comparison with France, or the US, UK airports are certainly expensive. But they don't benefit from the subsidies that exist in other countries.

[soay]

£41.38 for a SEP into Bristol today, and that was with discount for maintenance!

[Gertrude the Wombat]

£500m? - you must be joking! - lots more than that.

Which is why houses are going to be built there.

[Piper.Classique]

Landing for free

LFDW no charge
parking outside no charge for short stay
fuel 100LL €1.90 a litre
free coffee
two bunks in clubhouse if you are stuck out
runway lighting by arrangement
why live in UK?

[bjornhall]

So just why are some fields in the UK so expensive ?.

Because whenever this question is brought up, sufficiently many always start bleating about how this is quite reasonable, all in order, and precisely as it should be in this the best of all possible worlds.

Whereas outside the UK, if someone tried to charge the absolutely outrageous fees you pay, there'd be a riot.

[Hen Ddraig]

Because in the UK airports are almost all owned by companies who are required to show a return on investment. i.e. make a profit.
In France, USA and Canada airfields are largely owned by local municipalities, they are seen as an essential social and economic benefit to the area and are heavily subsidised for those reasons.

Hen Ddraig

Time to spare, go by air

[cambioso]

Go to Gloucester!

Have been in and out of Stav 4 times in the last week, (Father in hospital in Cheltenham).
WHAT A PLEASURE!!
Good helpfull ATC, super facilities, parking outside the terminal, taxi arranged and waiting every time, coffee in the terminal, the Aviator Restaurant just outside AND....landing fee £7.50p for my Midget Mustang, They are very keen to have us there (SO unusual these days!) and it shows!
Think about it next time you want a coffee somewhere.
Jez

[mike172]

malc4d,

No, but as I understand it, Marshall's have no choice really. Seems a bit stupid to me to build housing on an airport when there is plenty of land close to Cambridge that could be used.

I didn't realise that the landing fee at Cambridge was that high. I fly from there with Cambridge Aero Club so I don't pay for landings. Looking back on it now, I must have saved a fortune! I imagine the other flying clubs at Cambridge have to pay landing fees which would add a considerable amount to the PPL course for example.

[Leezyjet]

Not sure it's fair to pick out Cambridge

Well that is the most expensive I've been to so far.

How many fields with 2000 m of tarmac and an ILS

Most SEP's that I know of don't require 2000m of tarmac or an ILS !!.

For an SEP I'd expect to pay around £15 for a nice big long bit of tarmac that is well kept and up to £10 for a small grass strip in the back of beyond. It's starting to make my hour building rather more expensive.

Have been in and out of Stav 4 times in the last week

Not sure I'll be visiting there soon, at least until the summer. Great airport, great facilities, and a great cafe but got a bit of a shock flying out of there a week or so ago with a friend due to wx that wasn't forecasted

landing fee £7.50p

We returned to the airfield due to the weather and they charged us 1/2 price landing fee due to a weather diversion and it was £6.50 in a 152.

Any other reasonably priced airfields that are worth a visit ?.

It's such a shame that people/companies feel the need to target aviators in this country by hiking up the price when anything to do with aviation is mentioned. We are not all rich pilots - well not yet anyway !!.

[Pilotdom]

Leezyjet,

Did you not check the Landing fee before you went? If you didnt need the 2000m of runway and an ILS why did you bother going there? If you friend had been before, he should have known what the fee was. If neither of you did then its poor planning isnt it? My 2008 AFE guide gives the Landing fee for a SEP as £19.50, ok its gone up slightly but the info is there if you look or ask for it.

[Chilli Monster]

Originally Posted by Piper.Classique

fuel 100LL €1.90 a litre.............why live in UK?

You've answered your own question. At current exchange rates that's about 12.5 cents per litre more than I'm paying in the UK.

[ShyTorque]

If you think Cambridge is expensive, go to the following link, look under STOP PRESS and take a look at the PDF file on landing and parking fees.

http://www.londonheliport.co.uk/

It's most definitely VFR only, no navaids at all.

[eharding]

What do they charge for a 4-ship radial-engine fixed-wing visual run-in & break? - we wouldn't stop, don't need handling, and can do most weekends and some week-days?

[Whirlygig]

Five years ago, as part of my qualifying cross-country, I landed at North Denes. Having already spent a tenner at Beccles on the landing fee, I only had £40 left on me. It wasn't enough! £49.50. For a Schweizer.

Cheers

Whirls

[bookworm]

£500m? - you must be joking! - lots more than that.

Well I was estimating 500 acres at about a million per acre. But you're probably a lot closer to this than I am, how much do you think it's worth?

[A and C]

Leezyjet

If you are hour building use the free landings that you can get in the flying mags and phone around to find the airfields that offer discounts if you buy fuel. I would guess that with bit of planning you could get the average landing cost down to about £8.

[Rod1]

As someone said on another thread, you get what you pay for, but in most cases you pay for things you do not need, so go else ware. Your average SEP needs 500 m of flat grass and some ware to park. You can often get to land on such a facility for next to nothing. If you need 2000m, full ILS and ATC etc then it is obviously going to cost. In the 90’s there was very little competition, now there are micro strips / farm strips as well as the smaller licensed airfields which charge about £10 ish. If you want to experience an international airport, go over to France and get a good meal at the same time!

Rod1

[stocker]

I nipped across to Oban last week and planned on visiting Coll and Colonsay before heading back to Oban for fuel.
I bought a landing card allowing four landings for £20, good value I thought.
On the other hand I was quoted £108 for Aberdeen, this included overnight parking.
It all comes down to what you mind paying for and how much that landing means to you. For instance going into ABZ meant visiting family that I dont see very often so worth every penny whereas I wouldn`t nip in for a coffee at the local club for that price.......

[DaveW]

Take a look at the latest "Pilot" magazine, which carries a letter from someone commenting negatively about the landing fees at Norwich.

The Norwich airport manager's response is also published, and it is an impressive piece of dismissive arrogance; essentially "We don't want your sort here anyway".