Cost of Jet Fuel

[Speedbird1]

I saw a news report that said Jet Blue spends $15,000 per trans-continental flight just for jet fuel. Could this be true? If so, 30% of the fare goes just for fuel. What would the cost be for fuel for a 747 from JFK to Narita? JFK to Hong Kong? No wonder so many airlines are filing for bankruptcy.

[T-Bird76]

Discussed already.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11131 (http://nycaviation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11131)

[bluejuice]

Yes that is correct-$15,000 @ $3.50 a gal....up from $9600 last year when we announced LAX starting.

[lijk604]

$3.50/gal is great...if you were GA. For all those corporate aviation haters out there fuel is killing us.
We spend anywhere from $4.35/gal (Thomaston, GA) up to $8.29/gal (DCA Signature) for Jet-A. It's absolutely out of control.

[PhilDernerJr]

Prices for fuel create some interesting planning practices in the airlines. Taking on more fuel at one station so you don't have to fuel at the next one because of the price is always interesting to me...because then the flight can be slowed or affected because of the added weight of that extra fuel. A fascinating part of aircraft dispatching to me....although I'm a bit of a geek. haha

[lijk604]

Prices for fuel create some interesting planning practices in the airlines. Taking on more fuel at one station so you don't have to fuel at the next one because of the price is always interesting to me...because then the flight can be slowed or affected because of the added weight of that extra fuel. A fascinating part of aircraft dispatching to me....although I'm a bit of a geek. haha

It's not so much that you are slowed, per se, it's the fact that with the extra weight you cannot climb to optimum altitude as quickly. So instead of cruising at FL390, you get stuck at FL330 for part of your trip. So you have to weigh the benefits of carrying the extra weight paid for with cheaper fuel, vs. burning less and paying for higher priced fuel at the next stop.

[adam613]

So you have to weigh the benefits of carrying the extra weight paid for with cheaper fuel, vs. burning less and paying for higher priced fuel at the next stop.

Which is a no-brainer if you're flying from Thomaston, GA to National...:D

[PHL Approach]

Prices for fuel create some interesting planning practices in the airlines. Taking on more fuel at one station so you don't have to fuel at the next one because of the price is always interesting to me...because then the flight can be slowed or affected because of the added weight of that extra fuel. A fascinating part of aircraft dispatching to me....although I'm a bit of a geek. haha

Tankering fuel is definitely getting more use now. In addition to using a much lower cost index. We'll see how much more time they add to the block times in the coming months so they can fly a little slower.

[cancidas]

just paid $6,51 a gallon today for jetA at HTO. avgas was $6,30 a gallon the other day. so wrong...

[NYCMedic]

Tankering is usually useless on flag flights. Planned Re-Dispatch (PRD) is a good way to save fuel. PRD is basically filing a flight plan to a point that you really have no intention on reaching and as you approach that point, dispatch refiles you for your actual destination. For example you plan on flying JFK-RMS, but you really file JFK-SNN. As you near SNN, lets say 300NM out, dispatch refiles your flight plan as JFK-RMS. This is perfectly legal and saves quite a bit of fuel if done correctly.There are also loopholes in the FARs that allow you to manipulate your reserves as well as flying without a planned alternate.

[DHG750R]

Lots of good points. We tanker fuel when it proves efficient. or when our customer asks. Think of the costs when you uplift almost 44,000 gallons on one flight as we did earlier today . It works out to $154,000us at 3.50/gal As much as I love the 747 , I fear it's life will be shortened significantly due to oil prices alone..

check out this quote I just read on speednews. How can any airline survive with costs this high?


GOLDMAN SACHS says that it is "increasingly likely" that crude oil will be trading at $150-$200 per barrel over the next 6-24 months. It raised its 2008-2011 WTI spot oil price forecasts to $108/$110/$120/$120 per bbl from $96/$105/$110/$110 per bbl respectively, but says alternative path could be $125/$200/$150/$75 per bbl.