What is 'tankering'?

[ABZ no.2]

Whilst reading another thread came accross term 'tankering', I think it refers to fuel usage but I would appreciate it if someone could clear this cloudy mind!

[46mph]

taking extra fuel with you where it is cheap in order not to uplift as much for your next leg where it is expensive

[Actuals]

As you will know fuel prices can vary greatly between different suppliers and different airfields. There are occasions when it can be viable to load extra fuel at at an airport where prices are cheaper,and fly for example, back to home base, thereby arriving with considerably more fuel than was actually required. This means that the next amount uplifted (at a higher fuel price) will be reduced, saving some money. There are penalties for tankering in that the increased aircraft weight causes a higher trip fuel burn too, so normally this procedure is only used when there is a significant saving or fuel price differential.(Cold-soaking of wing fuel tanks can cause icing problems but thats another story!)
Hope this helps.
Actuals

[ABZ no.2]

Thankyou guys, very helpful.

[Herod]

As a rough guide, the penalty for carrying extra fuel is about 2-4% per hour for most jets. So if you carry an extra tonne on a flight of three hours you can expect to burn an extra 120kg of that fuel. This translates, again very roughly, to the fact that there must be at least a 4% saving in the price of fuel per hour of flight for it to be worth tankering.

[JJflyer]

"Liberating" beer from galley and "transporting" it for personal use as "medication" while spending time in "dry" destinations. Penalty: In some cases and places ChopChop.
See also Lubricant.

JJ

[This message has been edited by JJflyer (edited 15 March 2001).]