how is jet fuel cheaper than gasoline for a car right now?
In: 0
This is pretty normal. Jet fuel is easier to produce and is bought, transported, and used in bulk. That tends to make it cheaper.
Currently, avg avgas is $7.30. https://www.airnav.com/fuel/report.html
Delta buys large volume contracts at discounted rates. Just like everything else.
Airplanes don’t use conventional gasoline. They use a kerosene based fuel. Kerosene is cheaper to refine than car gasoline. So it is cheaper to buy.
Airlines regularly sign long-term contracts to lock in fuel prices. It’s possible that Delta signed a contract at that price a long time ago and it hasn’t run out yet.
If you agree to buy almost 11 million gallons of gas a day, you might get a better deal too.
Different types of fuel cost different amounts… different refining steps, different supply/demand, different taxes, more efficient distribution (to one or two airports vs. 100’s of retail gas stations)
As the others have said, airlines tend to buy fuel differently than you and I. First and foremost it’s important to remember that they use jet fuel, not gasoline, so there’s not a 1 to 1 comparison of prices. As the others have said, they will often purchase fuel futures way in advance, locking in prices over the long term if they fear that it will rise.
But something I haven’t heard anyone mention is that Delta Air Lines specifically OWNS A FUEL REFINERY. They started doing this a while back in an effort to secure their own supplies of fuel, and this knocks an additional cost off the fuel they are using since they don’t need to pay a middle man for refining.
Delta owns their own [refinery](https://airlineweekly.com/2022/04/delta-reaps-fuel-savings-from-refinery-ownership/), you probably don’t
Lol I’d love to be paying that little for my fuel… $2.35 a litre over here. $8+ per gallon to you
Latest Answers