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Just on hour building generally, something to watch when choosing a rental is the rate that fuel is refunded at, some places put a ridiculously low cap on the price meaning you might be effectively paying an extra few dollars per hour if refueling elsewhere.
This is certainly something that all renters should be aware of, and it can lead to some bad feeling from the rentor, but look at it from the point of view of the operator.
Rental in the US is very competitive, and it is amazing that some operators make any money at all (and I am sure it is the same in the UK, but fuel prices are not as diverse).
The operator probably has his own fuel operation, and buys his fuel at wholesale prices, lets say $1.50 per gallon. He will sell retail at (say) $2.50 per gallon. As his rental operation buys in bulk, he might therefore legitimately decide to sell to his rental operation at a discounted rate, say $2.00 per gallon. This makes him more competitive on his rental, and also lets him make a small profit on his fuel operation. He therefore will only refund you $2.00 per gallon, i.e. the rental operation's cost for the fuel.
If you go out to another airfield and purchase at their retail rate, say $2.75 per gallon, do you really expect your operator to eat 75c per gallon? That could mean he makes a loss on your rental. All businesses have to control costs, especially ones like plane rental ones where profit margins are slim, and just letting the rentor pick any fuel price out there is too much risk for the operator to take.
Airnav.com has an excellent utility where you can find out the cheapest fuel in an area. If you are flying in the US, and think you might have to buy some fuel, you should use it.
Last edited by slim_slag; 3rd September 2002 at 23:20.