Taxiing for Cheaper Fuel

LevelWing

LevelWing

Pre-takeoff checklist
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LevelWing
When you land at an airport, do you go for the cheapest fuel or do you prefer going to bigger FBO's you are already familiar with? Does the location of the FBO or amenities have any impact? In other words, if a smaller FBO offers cheap fuel, no ramp/landing fees and few other small things (restroom, coffee, etc.) but requires you to taxi further, would you do that or go for the closest/most convenient? What is the delta in price required to make that decision?
 
If it's an airport I'm not familiar with, I usually do some research online prior to my flight (airnav, etc...), so I'll typically have a pretty clear idea of which FBO I'm going to use before I arrive as well as the prices involved. So word of mouth is a pretty powerful motivator for me in regards to which FBO I use. There are some other factors involved as well: If I'm flying with my wife and child I might take the FBO with more luxury amenities to try and make sure my wife has an enjoyable travel experience, even if the cost of fuel is more.
 
Depends...If I am just fuel and go I will hit self serve or the cheapest. If I am staying overnight or need FBO services I will just let them fuel me with less regard to price.

Then again, when I am flying it is usually to get somewhere and time is more valuable to me than saving a few bucks at the pump.
 
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If I'm flying with pax, I usually avoid self-serve. Nobody wants to wait around while I fuel it.


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I typically go for cheapest fuel, however sometimes not if there's a difference in services that matters to me for the purpose of a trip. AirNav plays a big role here between fuel prices and reviews. Location of the FBO on the airport doesn't matter to me.
 
I'm a pilot,so cheap fuel and no ramp fees are for me. If I plan on using the crew car I go full serve at the FBO rather than self service.
 
Amenities being equal amongst the FBOs, would taxiing for an extra couple of minutes to get to an FBO that had cheaper fuel (and no/cheaper ramp fees) be worth it? I imagine some people might prefer going to a bigger FBO because of the established name and reputation and the fact that they know what they will get when they get there.
 
LevelWing said:
When you land at an airport, do you go for the cheapest fuel or do you prefer going to bigger FBO's you are already familiar with? Does the location of the FBO or amenities have any impact? In other words, if a smaller FBO offers cheap fuel, no ramp/landing fees and few other small things (restroom, coffee, etc.) but requires you to taxi further, would you do that or go for the closest/most convenient? What is the delta in price required to make that decision?
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It depends on what services I need. With the 310 I always had it put in a hangar if I was staying for a while and fuel purchases usually are negotiable when you are getting other services (actually they're usually negotiable above 50 gallons if you're nice). Taxi distance really doesn't play a part in my choice.
 
LevelWing said:
Amenities being equal amongst the FBOs, would taxiing for an extra couple of minutes to get to an FBO that had cheaper fuel (and no/cheaper ramp fees) be worth it? I imagine some people might prefer going to a bigger FBO because of the established name and reputation and the fact that they know what they will get when they get there.
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I suppose it would depend on how much cheaper we're talking, what kind of ramp/parking fees, if I am staying overnight or just the day, and if overnight whether they will pull my airplane into a hangar in case of severe weather.

All that said, I have never had this choice. I don't recall ever landing at an airport with more than one FBO. I also have never landed anywhere with ramp fees and the couple places I've landed with parking fees, they were waived with fuel purchase.

Now, between airports I have had the option between an airport where I would have spent ~$75 more in ramp fees/fuel/etc but close to an event I wanted to go to OR an airport with cheaper fuel and no fees but 30min extra time on public transport. Definitely choosing the 30min extra to save $75.
 
LevelWing said:
When you land at an airport, do you go for the cheapest fuel or do you prefer going to bigger FBO's you are already familiar with? Does the location of the FBO or amenities have any impact? In other words, if a smaller FBO offers cheap fuel, no ramp/landing fees and few other small things (restroom, coffee, etc.) but requires you to taxi further, would you do that or go for the closest/most convenient? What is the delta in price required to make that decision?
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I'd go wherever the fuel is cheapest. You're not burning THAT much fuel when taxiing anyway, even if it means taxiing further. :)

Those fbos that want to charge an arm and a leg for fuel, ramp fees, etc. need to lose their business. Maybe then they'll stop being so greedy. :mad:
 
cowman said:
I suppose it would depend on how much cheaper we're talking, what kind of ramp/parking fees, if I am staying overnight or just the day, and if overnight whether they will pull my airplane into a hangar in case of severe weather.

All that said, I have never had this choice. I don't recall ever landing at an airport with more than one FBO. I also have never landed anywhere with ramp fees and the couple places I've landed with parking fees, they were waived with fuel purchase.

Now, between airports I have had the option between an airport where I would have spent ~$75 more in ramp fees/fuel/etc but close to an event I wanted to go to OR an airport with cheaper fuel and no fees but 30min extra time on public transport. Definitely choosing the 30min extra to save $75.
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Some of your larger airports airports have more than one FBO.
 
DMD3. said:
I'd go wherever the fuel is cheapest. You're not burning THAT much fuel when taxiing anyway, even if it means taxiing further. :)

Those fbos that want to charge an arm and a leg for fuel, ramp fees, etc. need to lose their business. Maybe then they'll stop being so greedy. :mad:
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Those prices reflect the greedy jet setters they market to. I have yet to pay full price at them. People always complain about Signature, but I can't; they have always treated me well giving me deep discounts from the posted prices just for the asking (nicely asking) even when they are the only place on the field. I even got free nitrogen for a strut since I serviced it myself.
 
Today at KAGC, near Pittsburgh, I chose an FBO based on an uncommon criterion: walking distance to a hotel. Two FBOs, same gas price, same good AirNav reviews, but one was within walking distance to a hotel, which is actually very uncommon. Most airports and FBOs are so far from town you can't do that.
 
I'm not in any need of FBO " services". And will always opt for cheap fuel. Facilities fees really irritate me too. In Monroe, LA, they charg me $20 to walk through the FBO and down to the passenger terminal to grab some lunch. I bought their high priced gas from their truck too. With FF, who really needs much of what they are offering? I'm not flying a million dollar bird, I don't want million dollar service.
 
Henning said:
Those prices reflect the greedy jet setters they market to. I have yet to pay full price at them. People always complain about Signature, but I can't; they have always treated me well giving me deep discounts from the posted prices just for the asking (nicely asking) even when they are the only place on the field. I even got free nitrogen for a strut since I serviced it myself.
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Yep, Signature has given me deep enough discounts to make them cheaper than self serve at the nearby non-towered field. They even gave my friend a fuel discount when he was doing me a favor and dropping me off... in his Cheyenne.
 
Cheapest fuel, normally self fuel if avalible.

I'll go the FBO route of there is nasty weather during my stay and I need the plane in a hangar, but for a overnight leaving the plane outside in OK wx ain't going to hurt jack.

So yeah, unless you're trying to impress someone the full Monty FBO isn't high on my list, also I feel better fueling my plane myself.
 
James331 said:
Cheapest fuel, normally self fuel if avalible.

I'll go the FBO route of there is nasty weather during my stay and I need the plane in a hangar, but for a overnight leaving the plane outside in OK wx ain't going to hurt jack.

So yeah, unless you're trying to impress someone the full Monty FBO isn't high on my list, also I feel better fueling my plane myself.
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I have found on two occasions unexplained paint scratches and one sloppy ass fuel up where 100LL was spilled all over the wing and left to dry. If that's what I'm getting for a ramp fee, well, F you.
 
Unit74 said:
I'm not in any need of FBO " services". And will always opt for cheap fuel. Facilities fees really irritate me too. In Monroe, LA, they charg me $20 to walk through the FBO and down to the passenger terminal to grab some lunch. I bought their high priced gas from their truck too. With FF, who really needs much of what they are offering? I'm not flying a million dollar bird, I don't want million dollar service.
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you were charged simply because you walked thru the FBO?????
 
By myself, I look for cheapest fuel or total package. If with the wife, she likes service, likes when the lineman pulls the rental car right to the plane with the heat or AC running and is helping with the bags.
 
rk911 said:
you were charged simply because you walked thru the FBO?????
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It's happened to me as well. Just for landing, regardless of your intent, some FBOs will charge you unless you take on a certain amount of fuel.
 
If I'm flying with the family I go for convenience over price.

My wife and kids aren't going to want to hang around the hot airplane while I climb up and fuel it. They want to hit the restroom in the air-conditioned FBO, grab a water and a cookie, maybe buy some snacks, etc.

That said, it doesn't have to be one of the five-star jetcentric FBOs like Signature or Million Air - it can be anything with A/C and a loo. But self serve it is not.

Example: My favorite FBO on the long XCs I fly is Rocket Aviation at Hale County Airport in Plainview, Texas (KPVW). It's a simple FBO and the fuel prices reflect that fact. There I can do self serve if I want (and I usually don't want) while the family runs inside. But their fuel prices are so amazingly low I happily let them fuel my plane from the truck. Plainview is halfway between Denver and Houston so I go in there somewhat frequently. I'm more likely to fly a little out of my perfect great circle arc to get to a place like that.

Anyway, generally the prices on the same field are pretty competitive with each other - you usually have to go to a completely different airport to get drastically better prices. That's because a large portion of the price is structural (taxes, high rent, city fees and BS, etc.) on the same field.
 
Mr

LevelWing said:
It's happened to me as well. Just for landing, regardless of your intent, some FBOs will charge you unless you take on a certain amount of fuel.
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I'm a relatively new pilot and have not yet encountered this. assuming I don't need fuel for what exactly are they charging?
 
Re: Mr

rk911 said:
I'm a relatively new pilot and have not yet encountered this. assuming I don't need fuel for what exactly are they charging?
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The ability to charge you. If you're nice, you can typically get out of it.

Typically if I am stopping, I want to get some food for me too. The one thing I have found that eliminates most any fees and gets me a discount on fuel without even asking for it is asking this, "I'm going for food, any of y'all want me to bring something back?" It's amazing how much good will that buys you.
 
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