Fuel surcharge rip off ?

[Flybywyre]

Given the dramatic fall in the cost of oil over the last month or so I was wondering if clubs such as White Waltham were still ripping people off with the so called "Fuel surcharge" that they surreptitiously levy as a separate cost to the hourly rate ?
On their website it states that from the 1st of October 2008 the dual rate on a Warrior is £175 ph..............then in small print at the bottom of the page it mentions a £16.50ph fuel surcharge :eek:
Is this a mistake?
:confused:

[Captain Smithy]

Hmm. It depends on what price the fuel suppliers are still selling fuel at. As we are all too aware just because the price of oil falls it doesn't mean that the price of fuel also falls...!

My club has had a £10 fuel surcharge on all flights since last summer when fuel originally started going up... not a money-making exercise but as a means of survival in the face of extreme fuel prices... unfortunately with the irrational and inexplicable rapid rise in the price of fuel this year the surcharge was quickly gobbled up. :ugh:

The price of 100LL up here is still extrortionate but it has come down recently from almost touching £2.00/litre, I couldn't say what the price currently is. Hopefully clubs will be able to remove fuel surcharges soon as the price falls further.

£175/hr dual in a Warrior seems very expensive... £150/hr is the maximum dual rate I have seen for a PA-28. What is the solo rate?

Smithy

[muffin]

I guess it also depends on the price the operator paid when they last filled their tanks. They may still be selling very expensive avgas bought at the peak.

[Mr Grimsdale]

It all depends what price fuel was when they first imposed the surcharge.

When the surcharge was imposed at Biggin I think fuel was cheaper than it is now so I would not expect the surcharge to be lifted yet.

...it'll be nice when happens though!

[A and C]

THe drop in the oil price has yet to work its way through the supply chain and at the moment we are all buying fuel that the oil companys had to pay top price for, expect the price to drop but other factors are going to come into play such as radio spectrum tax.

[moggiee]

I'm fairly confident that we will pass on the saving once the oil companies pass it on to the airport and they pass it on to us.

Your question really should be "when will the oil companies stop charging rip-off prices".

As for it being a stealth charge, it's pretty blatant and it shows our customers that we aren't ripping them off. After all, it gives them the chance to do the maths on the fuel they use and they'll see that we're being fair. Administratively, it's easier to add (and hopefully later) remove a surcharge than it is to restructure your whole billing system, reprint your literature and redesign your website.

At £16.50 per hour, you can work out a "per litre" surcharge price and see if you're being done over.

[Katamarino]

It makes me laugh when all the paranoid conspiracy theorists start moaning about the oil companies ripping them off. It's one of the most competitive businesses around; I work for one of the very largest independant oil companies, and we produce around 2% of the worlds oil. How do you think the market can be controlled in order to 'rip people off' when you control a massive 2% of it?

[Captain Smithy]

Quite easily when it is such an essential resource, almost as vital to the modern world as food and water... but please let's not start about that... plenty of tin-foil-hatted discussions on JetBlast for that sort of thing :\

Smithy

[dublinpilot]

I really don't agree with fuel surcharges.

If the hourly rate needs to go up because of rising fuel costs, then put it up.

Don't tell people that your hourly rate is X, and then in small print give them all the extra's. Be honest with people. They know fuel went up, and will understand the reasons for the hourly rate increase.