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Planes await takeoff at the Stafford Regional Airport, where rising prices have led to declining fuel sales. |
If you're like many drivers, you cringe when dropping $40-$70 to fill up the tank.
So imagine how it feels to pump $5.85 fuel into a jet with a 300-gallon tank. Fill-up cost? A cool $1,755.
Rising aviation gas costs have played a major role in declining fuel sales and flights at the Stafford Regional Airport, officials say.
"It definitely has an impact on us," said Thurman "T" Campbell, chairman of the Stafford Regional Airport Authority.
About 22,000 gallons of aviation fuel were sold last month at the Stafford airport, a 24 percent decline from May 2007. The number of unique aircraft that used the airport last month dropped about 41 percent from the year before.
Fuel sales have been down most of the year at the airport, said manager Ed Wallis. He noted that the $5.85 per gallon price of jet fuel and $5.20 tab for the 100 low-lead aviation fuel used by smaller planes are close to $2 a gallon more than at this time last year in Stafford.
Jet fuel comprises about three-quarters of the aviation gas sold at the Stafford airport. The companies flying these jets for business tell Wallis that they're cutting back on travel or combining trips because of higher gas prices and a general economic slowdown.
It's not just jet owners that are reducing their flights. The number of single-engine planes--the type typically flown by recreational pilots--that used the Stafford airport last month dropped 42 percent from May 2007.
That's not unique to Stafford, either. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has about 414,000 members, conducted a survey last month that demonstrates the effect of rising fuel prices.
About 40 percent of survey-takers reported significantly curtailing their flights because of fuel costs, according to AOPA media relations director Chris Dancy. A majority identified fuel as their biggest cost concern--more than insurance, maintenance or storage fees.
One local pilot affected by increasing aviation fuel prices is Dan Hedenberg, who runs Flying H Aerial Pictures with his wife, Susan. They offer aerial photography for a variety of businesses and individuals.
It costs the Hedenbergs about $322 to fill up their 1972 Maule M-4 plane's 63-gallon tank at the Stafford airport. It was about $240 a tank last year. A tank powers about six hours of flight.
The Hedenbergs now fly for business-related projects only and increased their prices about 20 percent this spring when fuel prices topped $4.25 a gallon. The Hedenbergs don't anticipate an additional price hike at Flying H until fuel surpasses $6 a gallon.
Dancy said aviation fuel has tended to cost between $1 and $2 more per gallon than automotive gasoline. That disparity has severely challenged the major U.S. commercial airliners. But as the data show, it's crimping general aviation as well.
So if you're looking for a ray of light when paying up at the pump, remember this: It's even worse up in the friendly skies.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
