Freddie wrote:
Do you have any notice about a rumors I have heard this summer in Greek airport about the finish of the port of entry obligation next year? Will be very interesting to have more flexibility with the hourly limited operation of the airports.
No, have not heard anything.
Finally managed to get the first price indication from one of the handlers. Not one of the ones that AOPA Greece have an agreement with allegedly, but most of them didn;t reply and while Skyserv has been very responsive, they have not provided me with any indication at all.
So….drumroll….for a 7 night park of an SR22, they’re indicating just over 1000 EUR !! I am not one to complain too much about landing fees, given the overall cost of flying, but that is pretty steep.
That is the reason AOPA in Greece pressed years ago for custom contracts just for GA and for all AOPA cards (not just Greece) with Greek local GOLDAIR and SKYSERV agents (the 3rd SWISSPORT did not experess interest).
The positive thing with this is that AOPA can complain to them more easily (being locals) for malpractice if they get a valid complaint from a pilot.
The freelance foreign pilot who may have an issue with handlers will have less chances …
One thing that would actually be helpful, would be to get a quote from them well ahead of time. If I understood them correctly, they’re only going to supply that when they can apply for the slot, which is 14 days before arrival. It makes it impossible to know what financial damage you’re looking at and you have to book everything else and ‘hope for the best’.
Exactly, FRAPORT does not issue PPRs less than 14 days ahead and this can leave you with that uncertainty.
Exactly, FRAPORT does not issue PPRs less than 14 days ahead and this can leave you with that uncertainty.
But that doesn’t change estimate of fees that one requires from handler. If I ask “how much” then the answer is “x €” rather than total silence or “PPR can be issued within 14 days of flight”.
Its been observed that some HANDLERS are reluctant in sending estimates of costs the reason being that data a pilot sends may be different from the data on the day of the flight’s arrival.
Examples:
- AOPA Card validity (eg. just expired),
- more people on board,
- Change of arrival time outside a specified +/- window they have for each PPR due to last minute changes (eg departure delay) which requires new PPR update for which the handlers charge something some times.
- Pilot declaring Technical Stop and then deciding to stay overnight
There have been cases of pilots giving some data, getting a quote, then getting a different bill from the quote and then reacting aggressively.
Most of the times they were cases where they claimed AOPA card holder and handler saw on arrival that it was not the case or an expired card so the quote was different from the actual charge. This in turn brought nasty discussions.
So this is the reason some times handlers ask in advance for a copy of the aopa card to be sent via email which pisses some people off.
Last but not least, some handling companies at some airports .. have just the bare minimum staff required for the Scheduled (CAT) flights and no spare personnel for GA.
This means that in high season they run like crazy at the ramps (for daily CAT and the seldom GA) and they have little spare time for admin. work in office for all the details a GA pilot may ask by email. It is not a nice situation but these are the facts.
It’s worth mentioning that – unlike a number of “north” European countries – Greece doesn’t expect people to learn their language, so it is generally very easy to phone up a Greek airport in English. This is likely to be a lot faster for the person at the other end to deal with, than writing up an email which, frankly, a large % of modern society struggles with 
petakas wrote:
There have been cases of pilots giving some data, getting a quote, then getting a different bill from the quote and then reacting aggressively.
Well yes.
How would you react if you booked a hotel stay for 7 days, were quoted 700Euro and then on departure were given a bill for 1400Euro? Airport handlers are no different and they should be held accountable in just the same way as any other business. If I was quoted 300Euro for 5 days and received a bigger bill Id argue too. Are you telling me you would roll over?
Edit: I think if businesses cant be bothered to reply/quote after a couple of requests, then they dont want my business. I will go elsewhere.
Unfortunately the reality of “life” everywhere these days is that most people “live for the moment” and can’t be bothered to write emails.
It’s a struggle everywhere. I spend half my working day “pulling out peoples’ teeth” to get quotations
Now try organising a fly-in You will get a telegram group on which ~75% sit there in silence. In comparison, the average Greek handler could do a thesis on Shakespeare…
