FDM 2.qxp_Finance 22/02/2022 11:53 Page 1
FLIGHT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT
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Benchmarking Tips: Jet Fuel Discount Cards What should you know about benchmarking fuel costs and ensuring you have the best fuel card discounts available for your flight operation? David Wyndham discusses…
F
uel prices are rising once again. As of early February, the AirNav.com US FBO Fuel Price Survey reported the average price of Jet A to be $5.01 per gallon, with the range of reported prices varying from $2.75 up to $9.99 per gallon. Regardless of what your flight department pays for fuel, it's wise to shop around to see if a jet fuel discount card is right for you. Before you do that, you need a benchmark point of reference, i.e. ‘What are you paying right now?’
Contract Fuel
As the name implies, ‘Contract Fuel’ is a contract with a vendor to purchase fuel. It can be a ‘cost-plus’ type of arrangement, where you pay a set amount over the price the FBO has paid. More commonly, however, it is for a set discount per gallon of fuel. In order to secure the discount rate, you need to agree 72 Vol 26 Issue 3 2022 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
to purchase a set amount of fuel over an agreed period of time. This type of arrangement is used by large operators, including airlines, major charter management companies, and government operators. Jet fuel card programs can also use this method to negotiate price discounts. If you are a small operator, you may be able to negotiate a contract fuel discount at your home base FBO. The amount per gallon will depend on how much fuel you purchase. Just keep in mind that a fuel discount at your home airport is great, but it may not help when the aircraft is away from the home base.
Do Your Homework
Before you “pick a card, any card” you’ll need to keep three things in mind. The first two are “Where do you fly?” and “How much fuel do you purchase?” Having a fuel card accepted at over 3,000 FBOs will
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