Rental Cancellation Policies

I'm curious to know what sort of cancellation policies that flight
schools and rental outfits have in place to make it highly probably
that those who schedule airplanes will actually fly them.

Our school doesn't charge people for not showing up, much less for
cancelling very close to the proposed flight time. You can even
schedule a plane for a week, then cancel at the last minute. Or you
can schedule a 5 hour block and only use 1 hour of it.

Can you institute policies that you must use some percentage of your
scheduled time or face some charge for unused time? Does a
non-refundable deposit make sense for extended schedule blocks? Can
you really charge some fee to those who don't show up or cancel too
late without alienating your customers?

Appreciate any thoughts on what works and seems fair to all concerned.

"Greg Esres" wrote in message
...
I'm curious to know what sort of cancellation policies that flight
schools and rental outfits have in place to make it highly probably
that those who schedule airplanes will actually fly them.

Generally, we do not charge people for flights cancelled because of weather
or maintenance, nor do we charge them for canceling or missing a flight
once. Do it again, though, and you pay for both the instructor and the
airplane. OTOH, if an instructor no-shows, he gives you the next lesson
free. If he does it again, he is likely to be fired.

The problem is, we don't want people who may be sick or otherwise unprepared
to fly to feel like they are being forced into flying anyway.

Greg,

Appreciate any thoughts on what works and seems fair to all concerned.


One of the key issues is weather cancellations, of course. How much can
you as an FBO pressure pilots without making the whole thing unsafe.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

I cancelled a flight this morning that I had
planned for a week. Was to be with my first passenger as a new private
pilot.
TAFs looked good last night, then this morning everything went bad with low
ceilings and high winds
forecasted for when we would have returned. So I cancelled my 5 hour block.

We book planes online nice and anonymously, with no human intervention.
In an ideal world I could get the phone number and just call the guy after
me and let him know.
But that would assume that *flying clubs* are really clubs. Do you think we
should try to
make them more like car rental agencies?






and"Greg Esres" wrote in message
...
I'm curious to know what sort of cancellation policies that flight
schools and rental outfits have in place to make it highly probably
that those who schedule airplanes will actually fly them.

Our school doesn't charge people for not showing up, much less for
cancelling very close to the proposed flight time. You can even
schedule a plane for a week, then cancel at the last minute. Or you
can schedule a 5 hour block and only use 1 hour of it.

Can you institute policies that you must use some percentage of your
scheduled time or face some charge for unused time? Does a
non-refundable deposit make sense for extended schedule blocks? Can
you really charge some fee to those who don't show up or cancel too
late without alienating your customers?

Appreciate any thoughts on what works and seems fair to all concerned.

OTOH, if an instructor no-shows, he gives you the next lesson free.
If he does it again, he is likely to be fired.

Man, you guys are tough. But it does show a serious commitment to the
student. We have instructors who are habitually late or no shows. No
one does anything about it. It infuriates me to see a student hanging
around the lobby for hours waiting for his instructor.

The problem is, we don't want people who may be sick or otherwise
unprepared to fly to feel like they are being forced into flying
anyway.

Yep, that is a concern. I'm trying to figure out a way to respect
usage of the resources (the airplane and instructor), yet still allow
them to make the safe decision. The key may be to flag the abusers.

One of the key issues is weather cancellations, of course. How much
can you as an FBO pressure pilots without making the whole thing
unsafe.

Yes, that's one area in which I was hoping for some suggestions. You
certainly don't want to compel someone to fly in conditions outside
their ability. Possibly setting some weather minimums that will allow
cancellation without penalty. Crosswind, vis, ceiling, etc, depending
on the nature of the flight.

One real problem is VFR pilots that reserve an airplane for a week or
weekend, then cancel because of low ceilings, or other mild weather
that would not be a problem for a more experienced pilot.

Do you think we should try to make them more like car rental
agencies?

Maybe.

My thought is that an airplane is a resource to the FBO, and they
should try to achieve the highest utilization that they can. Renters
who reserve but don't use the aircraft are using the resource without
paying for it, which produces higher costs for everyone else.

There may be no safe solution to the problem; obviously, you could not
take your trip, so it's not your fault.

Maybe only rent to instrument-rated pilots? Maybe not rent out for
large blocks that increase the likelihood of weather cancellations?
Maybe charge a small penalty anyway to make someone *think* before
they reserve?

Some people cancel only when there's good reason to do so, but others
reserve on a whim just in case they might want to fly.

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 18:27:31 GMT, Greg Esres
wrote:

Our school doesn't charge people for not showing up, much less for
cancelling very close to the proposed flight time. You can even
schedule a plane for a week, then cancel at the last minute. Or you
can schedule a 5 hour block and only use 1 hour of it.

That's true where I rent as well. I don't know about the 5-hour block,
however, and you certainly can't rent a plane for several days, unless
possibly in the fall or spring. But there are no penalties for mucking
about with the typical one, two, or three hour rentals.

I generally have a pretty good excuse, however, or else I am full of
apologies.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

How does your FBO handle pilots who booked a plane a week earlier, show
up to the airport with passengers to find a squawk listed 2 weeks
earlier makes the plane unairworthy for your mission. I'm referring
to out of date GPS databases, no panel lighting for night flights, etc.
Can the pilot charge the owner/FBO for their time? Sure we can
boycott their plane but I just wasted about 3 hours of
my time scheduling the plane, checking weather, doing the flight
plan, filing flight plan, driving to the airport, walking out to
the plane, taking the cover off, doing part of the preflight
just to put the cover back on and drive home with disappointed
passengers. Just happened and I ****ed away my Saturday on
a very nice day. will I get anything for it? No. But
I'll sure spread the word around the club.

Gerald Sylvester



Greg Esres wrote:
I'm curious to know what sort of cancellation policies that flight
schools and rental outfits have in place to make it highly probably
that those who schedule airplanes will actually fly them.

Our school doesn't charge people for not showing up, much less for
cancelling very close to the proposed flight time. You can even
schedule a plane for a week, then cancel at the last minute. Or you
can schedule a 5 hour block and only use 1 hour of it.

Can you institute policies that you must use some percentage of your
scheduled time or face some charge for unused time? Does a
non-refundable deposit make sense for extended schedule blocks? Can
you really charge some fee to those who don't show up or cancel too
late without alienating your customers?

Appreciate any thoughts on what works and seems fair to all concerned.

G. Sylvester wrote:
How does your FBO handle pilots who booked a plane a week earlier, show
up to the airport with passengers to find a squawk listed 2 weeks
earlier makes the plane unairworthy for your mission. I'm referring
to out of date GPS databases, no panel lighting for night flights, etc.
Can the pilot charge the owner/FBO for their time? Sure we can
boycott their plane but I just wasted about 3 hours of
my time scheduling the plane, checking weather, doing the flight
plan, filing flight plan, driving to the airport, walking out to
the plane, taking the cover off, doing part of the preflight
just to put the cover back on and drive home with disappointed
passengers. Just happened and I ****ed away my Saturday on
a very nice day. will I get anything for it? No. But
I'll sure spread the word around the club.

What was the squawk this time?