The Air Group Takes Sting Out of Jet Fuel Prices With Proprietary Program That Provides Worldwide Discount Fuel Prices, Reduced International Handling Charges for Owners of Private Aircraft
Large aircraft management firm introduces SmartFuel! and co-branded Visa card for crew expenses to cut costs of private aviation services
The Air Group, one of the largest full service private aircraft management firms, has launched an innovative fuel and flight services program called SmartFuel! that provides substantially lower fuel pricing and international handling charges as well as more control of crew costs to owners and operators of corporate and other private aircraft. SmartFuel! will be provided to Air Group’s aircraft management clients at no cost as a value-added benefit, and will be available to outside commercial clients on a percentage fee basis.
“The single largest component of an aircraft’s annual budget is fuel and our program takes some of the sting out of recent escalations in price,” according to Jon Winthrop, chairman and CEO of The Air Group. “Saving just a few pennies on every gallon of fuel translates to many thousands of dollars on an annual basis, a savings that goes directly to our clients.”
SmartFuel! is a proprietary program created by The Air Group using the economies of scale derived from buying fuel in bulk as commercial airlines do and from concentrating its purchase of ramp and handling fees at major general aviation airports. Management clients of The Air Group receive worldwide access to discount fuel and flight support services with no markup. “100 percent of all discounts are passed on,” Winthrop says. Commercial clients share the savings they realize with The Air Group. In more of a traditional airline fashion, The Air Group often buys in bulk directly from its fuel suppliers thus eliminating vendor markups and handling fees.
Clients receive SmartFuel! fuel credit cards that ensure they receive The Air Group’s special pricing. To facilitate other savings, The Air Group tracks all fuel purchases through its information systems. These systems constantly monitor purchasing volume, update vendors daily and help Air Group management to constantly re-evaluate and improve its volume-based discounts. A self-audit system based on level three reporting makes it easy to verify the savings.
In addition, The Air Group issues a fuel grade for each FBO terminal location that ranks it by pricing levels. This grade considers all pricing factors such as fuel price, ramp, handling and security fees in order to determine the true cost of the terminal stop. This grading system enables client flight crews to choose which locations to uplift and tanker fuel, thus skipping the expensive fuel locations.
The Air Group SmartFuel! management team verifies billing daily from every location to make sure that the invoices issued are correct and the proper discounts have been extended, thus reducing the time clients spend reviewing and correcting billing errors. The Air Group SmartFuel! program staff is available twenty four/seven to ensure each client receives the best pricing and service at each FBO terminal location.
Along with discount fuel prices, SmartFuel! addresses two other key areas of aircraft expense — international handling and crew overnight expenses.
SmartFuel! reduces international landing fees by up to 35 percent using a new cost per leg pricing matrix developed by The Air Group. This savings is achieved by reducing communication charges, discounted pricing for over flight and landing permits, discounted charges for flight plans and weather briefings, and providing billing in real time, complete with proper back up for all expenses. In some locations, The Air Group has negotiated no ramp and handling fees for its clients.
A dedicated SmartFuel! dispatch group within The Air Group coordinates with a client’s internal flight operations staff and the various aircraft service providers to insure smooth handling and proper response to international flight requirements and passenger needs.
The Air Group is the first aircraft management company to have its own co-branded VISA card. This VISA card has pre-set spending limits, designated by each client. Using the internet, The Air Group securely monitors and tracks crew expenses on a real time basis. In concert with a major bank, use of this card controls expenses as they occur, eliminates credit card fraud and abuse, and helps support personnel to manage the many crew expense reports that occur on a daily basis in corporate aviation.
Headquartered in Van Nuys, California, The Air Group is an FAA certified commercial air carrier and operates globally with a diverse fleet of aircraft including most models of Learjet, Citation, Westwind, Hawker, Gulfstream, Challenger and Bombardier Global Express business aircraft. It maintains field operations in eight U.S. cities as well as Tokyo. For more information, visit www.theairgroup.com. For more information on the SmartFuel program, contact Mike Ross, Sr. Director of Projects, at (818) 781-8890, or mross@theairgroup.com.