Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexanderjohn
Hello,
Well According to local residents on this flight, it is common knowledge in the aviation community that Sint Maarten jet fuel brought in by sea is sold first to private planes and then to commercial carriers. Why don’t WestJet agents know this and plan accordingly? Why don’t they fully fuel their planes in Toronto for a round trip? Is it because fuel is cheaper in Sint Maarten than in Toronto?
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Not so much as wont....but can't fuel for the round trip. The aircraft simply doesn't carry enough fuel for the round trip when considering required reserve fuel on both ends of the flight and potential alternates for those as well. You would need enough fuel for Toronto to Saint Maartin plus the fuel to get to an alternate airport then fuel for another 45 minutes after that....minimum, now consider the same for the return flight to Toronto and you simply can't carry enough fuel. It would be like saying why don't you just put enough fuel in your car to drive from Toronto to Seattle because it's cheaper at home. Tech stops for fuel are quite common on longer routes, especially in places where fuel availability is spotty.