Ok today I flew down to Brown field at the border to get gas topped off for my flight to San Luis Opbispo of Friday. Gas was $4.93 a gallon. Now I have heard that gas at John Wayne in Orange county is 7 dollars a gallon. Gas at my home field is 5.92 a gallon which is about a dollar more a gallon. I talked to Tom at first flight about this and he feels that FBO's are killing the goose that laid the golden egg by gouging the publlic. He is selling all the gas he gets and making a good profit at that price while keeping General aviation flying. At gillespie field the price per gallon is over a dollar more per gallon and Gillespie is about 10 miles away from Brown field so don't give me that shit about delivery cost being more. Big Bear airport is up at over 5000 ft altitude and gas has to be delivered by truck and the price per gallon at Big Bear is the cheapest in southern california. As I see it I will never uy gas from any FBO at Gillespie as long as their policy is to gouge us as customers. Same goes for John Wayne if I ever fly in there but I doubt I ever will at those prices. Gas at SAanta Maria Cal is 4.93 a gallon and gas at San Luis Opispo is $4.62 a gallon. Now I could land at Santa Maria or SLO to attend the family get together I'm going to but screw Santa Maria at $4.93 a gallon.

L52 is usually competitive with SBP. I buy my gas on the west side self serve @ SBP. The folks at the FBO there are very nice. San Luis Jet Center on the east side are mostly catering to biz jets.

At the larger airports, like John Wayne, it is a matter of what the market will bear, I imagine airport fees and taxes. At my airport, the price is based on the cost of the last fuel delivery, so the price does not change until the next delivery, up or down.

At least in California, most of the City and County owned airports operate on what is known as an enterprise system. That means they do not get general fund money so they have to break even. The two main forms of income are hangar rents and fuel. In our case, they keep raising the hangar rents to cover their beauracracy.

Gillespie is county owned and is more than likely an enterprise department.

If you decide not to buy gas at your base airport, they will find another way to cover their costs and it will not include any cost savings on their part. Most of them know nothing about business. So don't expect them to make any kind of competitive business decision.

But,
As a consumer you have the right not to buy there. Maybe if enough don't, it will make a difference.
You can only hope what goes around, comes around.

Well as of this time in space most of my friends who own aircraft go to Brown to save cost of flying. It seems the fbo's at Gillespie don't give a rats ass about that since they have a few flying schools based at the field who will pay whatever the price is and just raise the cost of a rental to justify their overhead. Bottom line is the aircraft owner, like me isn't about to spend a dollar more or more per gallon when he can fly south for 15 minutes and save a dollar a gallon. In my case at 25 gallons this morning that was 25 dollars. Screw them...

Gas at my home airport...

...is $5.35. Just down the road at Cuba, Mo. airport gas is usually about $1.00 a gallon less. It is a 15 minute flight but....I just wait till the Maule is about out of gas, then cruise down for that hamburger and buy 55 gallons of gas.

Last week I filled up there at $4.35 per gallon. The town owns the fuel service, trys to make enough to keep the airport up and help promote general aviation.

What a novel concept!!

Bob

bottom line , I guess, is it pays to shop. I called SLO and santa maria and made the decision to land at SLO. My relatives live half way between both airports so they didn't care where they had to pick us up at. . Santa Maria can do without my business at .30to .35 cents a gallon more. I won't be spending any more at their airport for food at the restaurant either since we were planning on eating while we waited for our relatives to pick us up too. These are some of the things fbo 's probably don't think of when they think of the " bottom line" .

Speaking of gas prices, they're getting about $5.83 a gallon for 100LL at my home airport (Jefferson County,Pt Townsend WA). I think moist of the airports around the PNW are not too far off that mark, but since I mainly burn cargas, I don't monitor 100LL prices too much.
87 octane car gas at the local Safeway is right at $4-- but they're one of the few sources that's still ethanol-free.

Eric

Gas up in the north state(kalifornia) at my home port is $5.45,but just up the hills,its $5.20
I plan my trips around that.
Like Sammy Hagar says "Money talks,b.s. walks,but you cant touch my 3-lock box"

hotrod150 wrote:Speaking of gas prices, they're getting about $5.83 a gallon for 100LL at my home airport (Jefferson County,Pt Townsend WA). I think moist of the airports around the PNW are not too far off that mark

I paid under $5 last week at Lebanon State for 100LL. And they have Mogas. Good place to stop.

Aurora State is where I usually fuel and I think it is a bit over $5 but has never been as high as $5.50. That's on account, transients pay a little higher.

Randy

gas and airport conditions

http://www.100ll.com/

Carson City dropped 37 cents at the self serve to $4.98.

dlhanst wrote:Carson City dropped 37 cents at the self serve to $4.98.

Paid $4.81/gallon for 100LL @ Scappoose, Oregon today.

Yerington was $4.90 last Wed. vs. $5.35 self serve at Minden. I was going flying anyway and tanked up 36 gallons. Nice to save a little bit anyway.

I always use 100LL.com when going anywhere away from home. The prices are always higher at the "Big City" airports!

$6.16 AT SNY vs $4.06 for 91 Octane from the COOP...a no brainer!

gas and airport conditions

http://www.100ll.com/

I have found this site very unreliable for fuel prices in my area. It's been three weeks since Buckeye Az. dropped their price to $4.64, and this site still shows $5.28, and that's just one example. I have found Airnav to be more reliable.

Fuel prices seem to make no sence at all. I paid $5.80 in LGD LaGrande OR. I paid $4.89 in BDN Bend, OR. $5.40 in ONO Ontario, OR. and $6.25 in BOI last time I was in there. Big airports like Boise are sometimes charged a flow tax by the airport and that is sometimes why smaller airports are cheaper.