We pay such fees for years on jet fuel from other suppliers and I think they are actually ok as they reflect the real cost structure of the suppliers. BUT and that is a big but the deal with BP used to be that they have no such fees while their price per liter is substancially higher. Now the big question is if they will lower their prices to normal market rates while introducing those fees like the others?
As the “market” goes, these fees, or their threshold, respectively, are actually quite low. Except for zero (which is quite common still), 10EUR/GBP/USD is the lowest I have ever seen for a hookup fee. And (for Jet A1), the “small uplift” fee is often taken for an uplift of less than 1000l. Here, 200l is far more reasonable. I would prefer 100l obviously :)
I used to pay with World Fuel card for JetA, I had few of these “hook(*) fees” coming up in the statement by WF even if it was not applied at the “hook up time” by the local dealer or the trucks in their invoices, all of them were challenged and I got the money back,
It was a lot of money in % terms, about 300% price increase given that full fuel in DA40NG is 100L at 100Euros and I needed only half tanks 
Peter wrote:
Does this apply to refuelling from an AIR BP concession, or to the use of the AIR BP card?
It says “These fees do not apply where you use our self-serve facilities”. The corollary would be that if you use an Air BP concession (with or without Air BP card), these fees do apply. If a concession is used, the Air BP card doesn’t seem to bring any advantage since a credit card will also suffice.
There seems to have been a significant increase in self-serve locations, except for the UK which doesn’t seem to have any at all. The self-serve link in the email takes one here.
Sebastian_G wrote:
We pay such fees for years on jet fuel from other suppliers and I think they are actually ok as they reflect the real cost structure of the suppliers.
I think its a silly quasi-monopoly situation that reflects lack of competitive pressure. The suppliers cost structure is not my concern, my own cost structure is my concern and playing games with mental arithmetic just to buy fuel is wacko. I am the retail paying customer. There is no way that I would do business with a vendor for a retail commodity who expects me to wrap my life around his business.
I typically top off my plane off the truck at my hangar before every flight. Sometimes its under 10 gallons, delivered with a smile off the truck at $4.45 US/USG. If I’m low enough on fuel coming home and want to save money I stop at another airport 10 minutes from my base, and top off there at the self serve pump for $3.39 US/USG. I get the price on my phone prior to purchase, without silly fees to consider, either for landing or on top off the price per gallon.
chflyer wrote:
It says “These fees do not apply where you use our self-serve facilities”.
As far as I could see, the minimum uplift fee still applies to self-service.
Airborne_Again wrote:
As far as I could see, the minimum uplift fee still applies to self-service.
Where do find that information? It is in direct contradiction to the statement in the email. It might be worthwhile saving a copy of the email to later contest an eventual uplift fee.
chflyer wrote:
Where do find that information? It is in direct contradiction to the statement in the email. It might be worthwhile saving a copy of the email to later contest an eventual uplift fee.
I read it on the fees page on the BP web site. It said that the hookup fee didn’t apply to self-service, but said nothing about the minimum uplift fee.
Silvaire wrote:
I think its a silly quasi-monopoly situation that reflects lack of competitive pressure.
Actually I think it is quite the inverse. The non competitive airports/suppliers over here just charge by the liter no additional fees. But then the liter is simply expensive and done. Today my homebase which is ike that charges about 1,80 EUR / liter for JetA1 with all taxes.
At the next bigger airport over here it is just 1,30 EUR / liter but in that case with a 30 Euro minimum fee below 1000 liters no hook up in that case. You then get into the airline prices but I can understand they do not want to come by for small quantities, maybe even reconfigure their truck for gravity fueling to deliver 10 liters without a fee.
So it really depends on how much you uplift. During the last years I was more than happy to pay hook up and minimum fees and then uplift at a saving of 0,50 EUR and more per liter. To put this into a US perspective at big European airports you get into the 1.50 USD per USG range for JetA1 before taxes. In comparison US fuel prices before taxes often are quite high.
I’m glad to be a market situation where the cost isn’t hidden and fuel vendors openly compete, not cooperate. That is one of several reasons why I can buy Avgas for 0.74 Euro per liter. Two fuel trucks from two vendors at my base are constantly in motion, moving from plane to plane. Its part of the cost of doing business and the lack of nitpicky BS pricing is what creates the attraction to aviation and the volume of the fuel market.
Fees on fuel purchases are silly and manipulative, part of an OCD problem that drives volume down.
