GlobalAir.com’s new fuel route planner, in its final beta version, was displayed at AirVenture this year. President/CEO Jeffrey Carrithers anticipates that the finished screens, airport reports and icons should be finished by November 2008. The service is intended for the cross-country piston pilot, and he estimates that the subscription would run between $10-15 monthly.
Carrithers gave us a quick look at its capabilities. When you input your point of departure and destination, the planner takes your aircraft’s range, lays out the number of stops and displays the nearest airport. Click on that airport, and Globair.com will do a radial search for the best fuel price. It will also show alternate airports in the area, including airport information and fuel prices.
Where GlobalAir differs is that the fuel prices are reported directly from the FBOs, not pilot reports. The fuel prices are updated every 30 days, and if an FBO doesn’t update, it’s removed from the system automatically—no false hope from outdated fuel prices.
