7
one buys us the cheapest fuel and at which FBO
facility. Based on this, and assuming the FBO is
capable of the level of service we expect, we will
call the front desk at the FBO, explain our
operation and request their current retail costs and
whether they can give us any other advantages or
discounts.
If you haven’t tried this before you’ll probably be
surprised at how, simply by asking, you can realize
some valuable savings. From there, we typically
request a fuel release and will use it for all charges
in order to expedite our turns.
On overseas trips, our international trip planning
provider will use all our fuel card accounts and will
leverage their buying power through their own fuel
card providers to identify the best fuel savings for
us. The trip planning provider we work with knows
this is an important component of the service they
provide us.
Additional Fuel Card Benefits
Adding to the benefits of buying fuel though card
services is that some will handle the VAT refunds for
you. Whenever this is applicable it can yield you
valuable savings. If you are a large operation the
total savings here can become very significant.
One more form of fuel leveraging that has
yielded success is via Fuel Buying Associations. In
the US, one membership costing $500 per year
yielded savings on its first use that literally covered
the membership costs for the next two years.
Membership often takes us to FBOs that charge
nothing for parking, and we ultimately buy
‘courtesy fuel’ while taking full advantage of better
pricing somewhere else.
In Summary...
Though my flight operation has several fuel cards,
we do try to concentrate most of our purchases
with one provider. Their pricing is typically the best,
and by concentrating those purchases with one
company we have greater bargaining power to
negotiate better fuel discounts as a ‘preferred’
customer.
All the above actions could represent money
saved on your annual budget; yield enhanced
benefits for your principal; provide better job
security for you; and give you the satisfaction that
you are successful in the stewardship of your
operation’s cost. All in all, that’s a job well done!
AVBUYER .com
http://www.AVBUYER.com AVBUYER MAGAZINEVol 23 Issue 8 2019 77
With a focused approach on global
excellence and creativity, Andre Fodor has
managed flight operations for the U.N.
and Flight Options as well as being a
senior demonstration pilot and instructor
for Embraer Aircraft. He is the Aviation
Director for his current employer.
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