Airport Board Voted Unanimously To Authorize The Second Business

The Jackson Hole Airport Board unanimously passed a resolution last week authorizing a second fixed-base operation (FBO) on the Wyoming field, amid allegations of abnormally high prices for fuel and other items.

While an operator for the second FBO has not been named, Wyoming Jet Center has said in the past that it would be interested in establishing a FBO at the airport, which has supported two FBOs in the past.

AOPA reports that it has received numerous complaints about the airport as part of an effort to collect data from members and the public. According to one complainant, the current FBO, Jackson Hole Aviation, has the highest prices, compared to five other airports within 50 miles. Avgas is currently listed as $6.69; Jet A at $6.66. Another pilot reported being charged a $260 fee, just for a quick turn without “hardly any service.”

“There are numerous places where pilots are seeing egregious prices and fees, and our members have told us Jackson Hole is one of those places,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “But communities and their leaders like the Jackson Hole Airport Board and the Orange County Board of Supervisors understand the value of general aviation and that high prices hurt access.”
In January, after a thorough examination of fuel pricing, California’s Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to replace a local FBO, Signature Flight Support, with ACI Jet at John Wayne Airport.

In a letter dated  May 15 letter to the president of the Jackson Hole Airport board sent jointly by AOPA, EAA and GAMA, the board was urged to consider applications for a second FBO on the field as a means to increase competition. The board was reminded that when it accepted federal improvement funds it agreed not to grant any “exclusive right” to a single FBO at the airport. In addition, acceptance of those funds committed the board to making the airport available to all types and classes of commercial activity, such as FBOs, on reasonable conditions and without unjust discrimination.

It was also pointed out that that airports are obligated to ensure that FBOs are charging “reasonable and not unjustly discriminatory prices….”

Jim Elwood, executive director of Jackson Hole Airport, told AOPA that a motion for a second FBO had been adopted and that details would be released at a later date.

(Source: AOPA)

FMI: www.jacksonholeairport.com/administration