Good news.... Bad News

[Keith Lane]

The good news.
1. Went flying today (in my own plane) for the first time in a month
2. I bought gas for my pickup for $2.36.9

The Bad news
1. AV gas was $4.75 +7% tax I didn't buy any, the FBO (PXE) had closed for the day.
2. I thought the gas for the pickup was a DEAL

 

[TDKendall]

The good news.
1. Went flying today (in my own plane) for the first time in a month
2. I bought gas for my pickup for $2.36.9

The Bad news
1. AV gas was $4.75 +7% tax I didn't buy any, the FBO (PXE) had closed for the day.
2. I thought the gas for the pickup was a DEAL

Ouch. I've been wondering why, when the fuel cost for cars (where there's more of a demand) goes down, the price of avgas stays the same or goes up...but not down, yet there's not nearly the demand as there is for auto fuel. Just something I've been dealing with since the startup process of an FBO.

 

[RotaryWingBob]

The good news.
1. Went flying today (in my own plane) for the first time in a month
2. I bought gas for my pickup for $2.36.9

The Bad news
1. AV gas was $4.75 +7% tax I didn't buy any, the FBO (PXE) had closed for the day.
2. I thought the gas for the pickup was a DEAL

$4.60 at my home airport, but's it's edging down. The airport manager told me the other day that the price had come down some on the truck load of 100LL they got that day...

 

[gibbons]

I love how when the price of gas goes up the FBO raises his price to reflect the price of the new load. But when their cost goes down they average down their price. Yea. That's fair.

 

[gismo]

I love how when the price of gas goes up the FBO raises his price to reflect the price of the new load. But when their cost goes down they average down their price. Yea. That's fair.

Some do, some don't. That's competition in a free market.

 

[Dave Siciliano]

Some do, some don't. That's competition in a free market.

Article in today's Dallas Morning News about how retail gas stations have large margins right now. When prices moved up at the wholesale level, retailers were squeezed and couldn't raise prices fast enough to keep a reasonable margin. Now, with wholesale prices dropping quickly, the retail guys are keeping the prices a little higher to get better margins. They say (and I'm reportin not agreeing) they need the extra margins now to make up for loses when prices rose so quickly.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

We need to be more vocal. Those higher priced places need to know you are not patronizing their place because you can get it cheaper elsewhere. I made sure our fbo got a copy of prices with phone numbers of all local airport 100LL prices a month ago, when I did a survey.
As pilots we are polite to a fault - it can be done nicely. "I really want to buy gas here but I have to consider the other prices that are available..."
Its not enough to hope they hear you going to the airport next door on the unicom.

 

[wsuffa]

We need to be more vocal. Those higher priced places need to know you are not patronizing their place because you can get it cheaper elsewhere. I made sure our fbo got a copy of prices with phone numbers of all local airport 100LL prices a month ago, when I did a survey.
As pilots we are polite to a fault - it can be done nicely. "I really want to buy gas here but I have to consider the other prices that are available..."
Its not enough to hope they hear you going to the airport next door on the unicom.

Great idea, but may not work.

The 'big' FBO at Stinson is at $4.45/gal. The 'little' FBO is much less. But the little guy is not allowed to drive his truck onto the ramp area where most of the tie-downs are (they're under control of the 'big' FBO), nor can he go near the T-Hangars (same story). The T-Hangar and tiedown leases allow the big FBO to cancel the lease at any time for any or no reason.

It's much easier to go to another airport for fuel... and gets you some airtime, too.

Castroville - 10 minutes by air - is $3.45/gal. It's worth the flight for the savings. Or, as I did going to Dallas yesterday, stop at a cheaper airport along the way.

You could send a message by buying only a minimal amount from the home FBO, and tell them you're buying just enough to get to the cheaper airport.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Great idea, but may not work.

I hope it does, but I fear you may be right.

Our one and only on-field FBO actually posts the regional average prices and highlights our region, despite the fact that they have ABOVE average prices by about $0.30/gal! However, they have very nice facilities, excellent service, and the kicker is what's posted on the door into the FBO from the ramp: "NO RAMP FEES. We prefer to earn your business." Most people will buy the fuel despite the higher price.

As for ground-pounder fuel, there is a local chain of Mobil stations that also has nice facilities and normally has average prices. I buy all my gas there because they do NOT raise prices when there's a news story that predicts a rise in prices. They wait until the wholesale price actually goes up. They seem to bring prices back down the same as everyone else. As a result, they're never really worse than the average price in town, but when prices go up they can be up to 30 cents per gallon cheaper than anyone else. Because they do that, I buy all my gas there.

I should write them a letter...