And, while I'm whining, I'll bring up another sore point, and that's credit cards.
Merchants pay a service fee of usually about 3% of the total sale to the credit card processing company. Back when fuel was $2, that was about 6 to 7 cents per gallon. Now with fuel at $4.50, and up, it becomes almost 16 cents a gallon. So, the FBO has to either eat it, or raise his price even more to keep the same per gallon margin that he had before the prices shot up. If you can pay cash for fuel, ask your FBO to split the difference with you, or roughly give you an 8 to 10 cent discount for cash. At our place, we give customers 15 cents off of retail price if they put up $2500 front money (cash or check), and buy fuel from that credit balance. That's about 70 hours worth of flying in an 8 gph 172, or fewer hours, of course, in a larger airplane. Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jerry Eichenberger Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 1:17 PM To: John Cooper; [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: support your local FBO (was Plastic Gas Cans) Trying to sell auto fuel at an FBO isn't very easy. First, of course, you have to have a storage and delivery system. Even above ground tanks and pump are very expensive, tens of thousands of dollars. And, the numbers of airplanes that still use it aren't that numerous. Everything made since the 1980s, maybe even back into the 1970s if you count 172s and 152s need 100LL. Larger older airplanes like most twins, Bonanzas, Comanches, and the like have needed 100 oct. fuel since they were made. Lastly, the types of airplanes that use 80 oct., and thus use auto gas, with the sole exception of old 182s and really old other airplanes using a Cont. 0470 engine don't use much fuel anyhow. Champs, Cubs, etc. typically buy less than 10 gallons at a pop. Maybe an old 172 may buy 25 gallons at a time. Then, finding auto gas to sell that doesn't have alcohol is a pain. So, all totalled, selling auto gas at an FBO is FAR more trouble than it's worth - at our place, I presume we'd sell less than 1,000 gallons a month of it even if we did have it. And, it wouldn't be much cheaper than 100LL, given the costs of buying small quantities at a time (you pay thru the nose for loads of less than a full tanker at a time which is 8 to 10 thousand gallons - freight costs, per gallon, get prohibitive), the costs of the storage and delivery system, and the labor cost to pay a lineman to put 6 to 10 gallons in a typical user of it. That's why you see very few FBOs stocking auto fuel. Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of John Cooper Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 10:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: support your local FBO (was Plastic Gas Cans) > If you expect him to be there for you when you need him, support him when you don't. So, Jerry, way has your FBO chosen not to offer auto gas? There are those who use auto gas primarily because they feel it is a better choice for the engine. I happen to be one, but then I fly off my own property so I'm not really cutting into anyone's business. We all make business decisions and tradeoffs. I don't blame the coupe owner for buying something from someone else if I can't make him a competitive offer. I appreciate those who buy from me even if they could save a buck at Aircraft Spruce. In fact, often, after shipping is factored in, they don't pay any penalty. But there will always be those who don't. The only time I let it get to me is when someone calls and asks how to install the part they go from Univair. ;) John Cooper Skyport Services 518 797-3064 www.skyportservices.net
