Industry brief

US Jet A hits $8.66 as fuel climbs for a fourth month, and governments keep buying business jets

Full-service Jet A averaged $8.66 a gallon in October and 100LL $7.85, both new six-month highs after a fourth straight monthly rise, per iFlightPlanner. Also: 91% of brokers and financiers in an ACJ survey have seen more government demand for purchase or charter, and Wisk has opened a public on-airport vertiport at Hollister.

4 min read · 2026-11-05

White business jet on an airport apron with mountains behind it

Lead

Fuel is still getting more expensive for anyone quoting US legs. iFlightPlanner's October survey of 3,367 FBOs and fuel providers shows full-service Jet A at a national average of $8.66 a gallon, up 30 cents or 3.6% from September, and full-service 100LL at $7.85, up 10 cents or 1.3%. Both fuels are at new six-month highs after rises in July, August and September as well.

The Jet A and avgas numbers

In the contiguous 48 states, full-service Jet A averaged $8.60, up 29 cents. AIN's read of the same data puts New England at about $9.11 and the Eastern region at about $9.03; Alaska and Hawaii were near $10. Self-service 100LL averaged $6.82, up 15 cents, still about 13% cheaper than full-service, or roughly $41 on a 40-gallon uplift. UL94 self-service rose 19 cents to $7.87 and mogas 17 cents to $5.79, both still scarce outside a few regions.

The longer trend is sharper. Since May, full-service Jet A is up 59 cents (7.3%) and 100LL 36 cents (4.8%). Since February, Jet A is up 35.1% and 100LL 22.1%. That follows an earlier September brief on this site that already flagged Jet A at a six-month peak; October pushed it higher again.

Also this week

Governments are a bigger slice of demand. Research commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets surveyed 280 business-aviation financiers and brokers across the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Ninety-one percent said they have seen more governments or government departments looking to buy or charter business aircraft, with the US highest at 95%, then the Middle East at 94%, Asia 92%, Europe 88% and Latin America 80%. ACJ says about half its own customers are already government entities, using aircraft for diplomacy, crisis response, medical evacuation and repatriation as well as VIP transport.

Wisk opens a public on-airport vertiport at Hollister. Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero says its 100-by-100-foot pad at Hollister Municipal Airport (CVH) in California is fully operational and is one of the first US public-airport vertiports built for both piloted and autonomous work. The elevated steel pad, with solar power and taxiway connectors, will host surrogate helicopters and Wisk's Generation 6 aircraft for precision landings, missed approaches and GPS-denied navigation tests. A ribbon-cutting was held on 29 October; the company announced the opening on 30 October. The FAA posted a draft advisory circular on vertiports on 22 October that would replace its interim Engineering Brief 105A, with comments due 11 January 2027.

What it means for brokers and operators

Re-quote fuel on US trips. A 30-cent Jet A move adds about $150 on a 500-gallon uplift and about $300 on 1,000 gallons before tax and uplift fees. Check regional boards, especially New England and the East Coast, before you lock a client quote.
Self-serve and tankering still matter on light aircraft. Where self-serve 100LL is available, the $1.03 national gap versus full-service is real money on training and ferry legs.
Keep a government channel open. With nine in ten surveyed brokers seeing more state demand, mission work (medevac, VIP, humanitarian) is competing for the same midsize and large-cabin slots your retail clients want.
Watch AAM infrastructure at GA airports. Hollister shows eVTOL test pads appearing on public fields; operators based there should expect temporary restrictions and more mixed traffic as Gen 6 and surrogate flights ramp up.

Source note

This brief is an original rewrite of the reports listed below. It is not a verbatim reproduction of those publications.