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Lancaster Airport Authority is getting into the fuel business.
Authority chairman Marvin Miller Jr. said shortages of fuel sold by Airways Inc. at the airport in recent weeks prompted the authority to take action.
"We thought the situation was serious enough that we had to act," Miller said.
The authority voted Monday to create LNS Alliance Aviation, which will sell fuel from tanks filled by supplier AvFuel of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Two businesses, Airways and Tower Aviation, sell fuel at the airport.
Airways, the only merchant currently selling jet fuel at the airport, has credit problems and can only purchase fuel from its supplier, Ascent Aviation Group, by paying cash on demand, Miller said.
The cost of storing aircraft fuel has skyrocketed. Aviation fuel sold for $4.01 per gallon last week, compared to $2.93 a year ago, according to the airport authority.
Joyce Opp, Lancaster Airport Authority's finance and marketing director, said the airport has received many complaints over the last five years that fuel service there was unavailable or insufficient.
An air ambulance transporting a sick passenger landed at Lancaster Airport Monday to purchase aviation gas, but Airways, the airport's main fuel supplier, had none to sell, Opp said."Fortunately, Tower Aviation was open and available to fuel them on time," Opp said.
Within 30 days, AvFuel will provide gas, jet fuel and services, including marketing funds of $40,000 to advertise LNS Alliance Aviation.
"This will allow the airport authority to continue to succeed in our No. 1 goal of remaining self-sufficient for operating purposes and increase our overall economic value to Lancaster County," Opp said.
Six fueling companies were contacted to provide fuel to the new business but only three responded, Opp said. The authority voted to accept AvFuel's proposal Monday.
The airport expects to sell about 380,000 gallons of jet fuel and 80,000 gallons of aviation gasoline in its first year.
The airport authority agreed Monday to purchase two existing Airways tanks at the airport — owned by Ascent Aviation Group — for $85,000, and a fuel farm and a fuel truck from Tower Aviation for $125,000.
The truck can store 750 gallons of fuel, and the tanks hold 12,000 gallons of fuel each.
Airport manager Dave Eberly said selling fuel will provide increased income, but "we're more motivated in meeting our customers' needs and growing business at the airport."
(76) (66) (21) (13) (3) (3)Opp said AvFuel has an AvPoints program with more than 40,000 members. She said the program — more than 21,000 pilots use AvFuel credit cards daily — should help draw customers to Lancaster, including military aircraft, which will be able to fuel on the field.
Lancaster Airport is the fourth-busiest airport in the state with more than 100,000 takeoffs and landings per year, Opp said.
Opp said only a handful of airports nationwide operate their own fueling facility. She said Lancaster Airport is unique because it has several businesses, or fixed-base operators, that draw traffic here.
"Most airports of our size would only have one or two fixed-base operators. We have 13," Opp said. "They pretty much all provide service that don't compete with each other, so that is why we can do this."
E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com
