Business jet fuel prices can fluctuate significantly from region to region and this gives many longer-range aircraft the opportunity to take advantage of lower prices, refuelling or ‘topping up’ their tanks. There are big savings to be made when we consider that up to 70% of the average business aircraft operational costs consist of the fuel budget.

The term given to this practise is tankering.

FuelerLinx, a California-based fuel pricing software provider, have released an update to their subscription fuel-pricing service. The enhancements have been produced in conjunction with Danish-based Company, Aviation Cloud, who provide flight planning services. The improved calculator now delivers, via the addition of flight planning, real-time weather data, vertical profiles and regularly updated fuel prices.

“The concept of tankering has long been in the aviation handbook,” said Kevin Moller, CEO of California-based fuel pricing software provider FuelerLinx. “But the ability to achieve the greatest cost savings by tankering each time you plan a trip has never existed until now.”

“The tankering calculations have proved invaluable to our cost-saving efforts,” said Karen Brunsman, flight coordinator for FuelerLinx subscriber NextEra Energy, which operates a pair of Citations and Falcons. “It allows us to take the optimal amount of fuel at each stop for the least amount of money overall.”

In a time when operators must look to manage costs efficiently, the benefits of fast and reliable access to fuel pricing across the flight plan is certainly an advantage in the marketplace. Other providers of flight planning solutions offer integration with flight support services and provide fuel purchasing as a part of this service.

It is worth exploring the possibilities for the business aviation market.