SDC2026: Data, Relationships, Smart Decisions Keys to Mitigating Jet Fuel Price Spikes

March 26, 2026

Obtaining the best prices for aviation fuel is often linked to several factors, including understanding the market, validating invoices, using data intelligently and relying on trusted relationships across the fuel chain, according to a panel of aircraft fuel executives appearing at the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2026) in Cleveland.

The panel discussion, which was moderated by Karen Rutowski with FuelerLinx, opened with a stark example of just how quickly the fuel pricing landscape has shifted in the wake of the military conflict in the Middle East which began on Feb. 28.

One panelist, AvFuel Corp. Vice President of Contract Fuel Jonathan Boyle, described his reaction after reviewing an FBO’s pricing recently. “I was looking at their delivered price on Feb. 1, and pre-tax, it was $2 a gallon. Their pre-tax price yesterday, started a new price week. Yesterday (March 24) it was $4.36 so it got up by $2.36.”

The Fuel Pricing Week Begins on Tuesdays

These swings are driven by broader market forces far beyond any single operator’s control, panelists said. “The fuel pricing week starts every Tuesday, and it is primarily predicated on the trading values of fuel,” Boyle explained, adding that “jet fuel is a publicly traded commodity.” Changes in the market that operators are seeing are predicated on these trading values from the prior week, they said. In short, schedulers and dispatchers cannot control the market, but they can control how well prepared they are to deal with it.

Your Fuel Data Is Power

That preparation starts with information. For example, operators should build stronger internal visibility into their own purchasing behavior by asking themselves key questions. “Knowledge is power. Data is power,” said panelist Joe Martinsek, president of Everest Fuel. “Do you know how much fuel you can buy? Do you know where you buy it at how many gallons? You know what tails? Do you know which FBOs you go to and how much you bought from an FBO? Look at your data.”

Operators need more than a general sense of their fuel usage. They need hard numbers on annual gallon volume, dollar spend, preferred markets and airport-specific behavior. With that information, operators can negotiate from a position of strength. As Martinsek put it, “Having that knowledge gives you something in terms of leverage.”

Practice Post-Trip Validation

Just as important as pre-trip planning, panelists said, is post-trip validation. Don’t assume the quoted price they saw before departure is automatically what they were billed.

“You need to look at what you paid and then match it up to what you thought you were going to pay,” said Titan Aviation Fuels Senior Vice President David Sierzant. “Did you actually get what you thought you bought?” That, he added, “is the most critical thing.”

The panel made it clear that looking at fuel price alone can be misleading. The lowest posted rate may still produce the highest trip cost once ramp fees, minimums and reseller charges are added in. “You may see the cheapest price at the top of a list,” Sierzant said, “but at the end of the day, it may not be the cheapest price that’s available to you.” That is why invoice reconciliation and attention to the fine print are essential parts of any serious fuel strategy, panelists said.

Taking a Balanced View of Fuel Pricing

To put the issue in proper operational context, Boyle recalled that after years in the business he eventually realized fuel was not always the top operational priority. “Moving your passengers safely from point A to point B is probably No. 1,” said Boyle, adding that fuel may only be “sixth or seventh most important in a scheduler’s or dispatcher’s life.”

That same balanced view came through in the panel’s discussion of how important business relationships are to the fuel price equation. “If you don’t know who your fuel points of contact are, that should be your first piece of homework,” Boyle said.

Sierzant put it even more simply: “Know your fuel salespeople.”

Those relationships matter because suppliers can explain price movement and because they can help operators negotiate better outcomes with FBOs. Boyle described how suppliers can go to an FBO and ask, in effect, “‘If we can do this for you and I bring you a new piece of business in exchange for that, would you give me a better rate so that we can extend it to the to the end-user customer, and then all three of us win.’” For smaller operators, that kind of advocacy can create a significant advantage.

The experts also pushed back against a simplistic obsession with the lowest-priced fuel. “Relationships are super important,” said Martinsek, but so are “fuel quality, safety and what kind of service you’re getting. I will fight for service in this industry – the relationships that we have in this industry – more so than the price of a gallon of fuel each and every single day.”

Tankering Decisions

Panelists also urged operators to think more holistically about tankering – the practice of carrying more fuel than necessary on a flight to avoid purchasing higher-priced fuel at the destination airport.

Boyle recalled a chief pilot saying he would rather not “fly heavy and land heavy” just to avoid buying fuel at a stop. “You’re stepping over dollars to pick up pennies here,” Boyle said, warning that excess weight can drive higher fuel burn and put more wear on the aircraft.