An annual FBO Fuel Sales Survey and Industry Forecast finds that fuel sales were down in 2023, with 41% of FBOs saying they say a reduction in fuel sales from 2022.
The survey, conducted by John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, the founders of Aviation Business Strategies Group, notes that compares to 29% in 2022.
When asked to forecast their fuel sales for 2024, 41% of the respondents said they expected fuel sales to be the same, while 14% expected a decrease in fuel sales.
However, 30% expect an increase of 1% to 4%, while 10% expect an increase of 5% to 8%, and 5% expect an increase of more than 8%.
The survey also asked those in the FBO industry their top concerns for 2024:
- The high cost of building new hangars: FBOs are facing elevated construction costs and higher bank loan rates causing a slowdown in expansion of needed infrastructure. Increased construction costs have been estimated to be as much as 30% higher from prices recorded in 2021.
- Effects of inflation and higher cost of doing business, including higher overhead costs including labor, goods, services, insurance, facility upkeep, and utilities. Some FBOs also mentioned airport authorities raising operating fees and more restrictive government regulatory oversight.
- The fear that smaller and family owned FBOs won’t be able to remain competitive.
- Replacing 100LL with 100UL: FBOs are concerned about the potential costs involved in switching over to unleaded avgas, including tank farm/storage issues, fuel quality control, availability and the actual cost of the fuel. Many FBOs responding to the survey fear that the average piston aircraft owner/pilot will be priced out of aircraft ownership.
- Finding and keeping qualified employees, including A&P technicians, the cost of training new employees and ongoing retention issues.
You can read more about the survey and its findings at ACKWIKAlert.com
Fuel prices may be down but FBO faculty/ramp/security/service fees sure haven’t decreased. They keep going up and are absolutely ridiculous in many locations.
GAN, are you going to allow this to be yet another public forum lost to political rants?
Bidenomics on display – everyone but the cronies lose. Most private aircraft owners I know prefer self-service fuel stations. Not all GA airports have these though. Most new sport aircraft are powered with engines designed to operate on lead-free mogas, yet few airports offer this. So those pilots buy their fuel at gas stations, and there are plenty of them offering ethanol-free 91-93 AKI mogas, see pure-gas.org The taxes they pay on that fuel go to build roads, not airports. In some states like mine (NC), aircraft owners are reimbursed for the state portion of fuel taxes purchased at gas stations. Hangars are becoming incredibly expensive to rent. Smarter airports though lease land to those who build their own hangars, which cost taxpayers nothing. But these hangar owners look to build low-cost hangars, not the gold-plated ones that airport consultants would prefer. There are many ways to lower the cost of GA airport operation. The best would be to privatize all of them and we’ll see which survive. Competition is the rising tide that raises all ships, but a few will sink in the process. So be it.
My first reaction was, FBOs are building new hangars? Where? The only hangars I ever seem to see, even in major cities, all seem to have been built circa WWII. But on reflection, I do notice that old T-hangars and tiedowns are being replaced with spaces for corporate jets.