De-Icing fluid price gouging?

[maximizer]

What are people paying for De-Icing fluid? It seems to me it is a perfect commodity & service that can be used to enhance a "bottom-line". What do you think?What is the going rate this year?

 

[Flyght30]

Just paid a little over $1600 in Bedford,MA and couple weeks ago for a beechjet.

 

[Caboclo]

I've just been setting up the de-ice program for the FBO I work at; cheapest price I found to buy the stuff in less than 1000 gallon lots was $8.75/gallon. Then I called around, seems like most smaller town FBOs are charging $10-$15/ gallon. In some cases, there is also a $50-$150 service charge. Of course, that's just the small towns. Places like Jackson Hole and JFK might charge a wee bit more. Also, bear in mind that it takes 10 gallons or more of gas to heat it up every time.

 

[Spooky 2]

Just paid a little over $1600 in Bedford,MA and couple weeks ago for a beechjet.

How about 18,000 for a B757 at IAD. Delta Air Lines had a flat rate for a B747 of 8,500, so you know your getting screwed when the FBO is charging 18K for a deice!

 

[maximizer]

right on spook...good post

 

[jetwash]

In IAD Landmark charges $18/gal type 1 and $28/gal type 4.

 

[lazyace75]

In IAD Landmark charges $18/gal type 1 and $28/gal type 4.

We paid $1800 for about 6.5 minutes of de-ice there last week. We got the bill and called IAD Landmark. There was no way that they used 110 gallons of Type I in that about of time. We only had about 1/8" of ice on the airplane. I saw them spray and it was on and off at best during that timeframe.

They told me "well, that's what the truck readout was sir."

It's a scam like a Signature "security fee"!

 

[btodd77]

Most trucks have some sort of a meter on them as to what they are using. Take a reading of it before they start spraying and compare that to your bill.

 

[Flyboy Sabre 65]

Most trucks have some sort of a meter on them as to what they are using. Take a reading of it before they start spraying and compare that to your bill.

Unfortunately when I get deiced we pull up with the engines running they deice and we pull away. No chance of checking there meter.

 

[goodgig]

Lazy, that does not sound unreasonable at all. 6.5 min, they could have spewed a LOT more than 110 gallons. It comes out of that 1.5" hose pretty damn quick. And ice of course is going to take more energy to remove than a bit of snow.

20 years ago, I worked at an FBO, and the de-ice really boosted the bottom line. The president always called it "Liquid Gold".

 

[G100driver]

Try $3000.00 for type I in Stockholm last winter .... (only a Falcon 2000)

I would love an $1800 bill!

 

[PMVULB AvMgr]

There's a thread on NBAA's Air Mail BBS where a guy in a CL-300 paid $18,000 to get deiced at Signature IAD!!!!

 

[Launchpad]

anyone that de-iced in BWI on the 5th of Dec. They cleared a quarter inch of snow off our plane and claimed to shoot 400 gallons in 14 minutes. Check your receipts. I don't even think the truck can shoot that much, I won't even mention the cost-

 

[bizjet800]

Whatever the cost, it sure beats crashing! Just ask Dick Ebersol what he would have paid for a for a nice bath of de-ice fluid. I know we have to be mindful of costs, and $18k seems out of this world, but they kind of have us by the b@lls! I think we paid $2500 the other day at APA.

And you are not just paying for the de-ice fluid that day. The FBO has to buy de-ice trucks and let them sit all spring, summer and fall. You can't just say, "hey, I can order a gallon of de-ice fluid from Sporty's for X amount, therefore, I think you shoud only charge me that amount." It really comes down to risk and service. The FBO took the risk of buying the trucks and stocking the fluid knowing that one day, you would need to be de-iced. Would you want an owner of a plane paying you $500 bucks a day saying, "Shoot $500 a day, that's too much. That's over $180,000 per year! I'll pay you 200 a day! That's over $70,000 per year! And that's plenty!"

 

[NotFurloughed]

deice...

Deicing in Vancouver:

Type I: 23.00/gal plus 22/gal for fluid recovery

Type IV: 25.50/gal plus 23.50/gal for fluid recovery

That adds up quick....$6800 to Type I and IV the X the other day....had o wait 45 min behind an A330...

But...much less expensive than any type of incident/accident....

The price of doing business.