Fuel Procurement Reference

Quick definitions for the industry terms that appear in tenders and bids on JetFuelTenders. Use this as a refresher — it isn't a tutorial.

IATA into-plane service levels

Four levels defined by the IATA Fuelling Operations Group, used to specify the scope of into-plane fuelling responsibility.

Level	Scope
IATA Service level 1	Up-to-plane only; airline refueller performs into-plane procedures.
IATA Service level 2	Routine fuelling to a total fuel figure.
IATA Service level 3	Routine fuelling with distribution charts and discrepancy checks.
IATA Service level 4	Full into-plane capability including non-routine procedures.

See IATA into-plane service levels for the full breakdown.

Units (USG and MT)

Jet fuel is quoted in US gallons (USG) or metric tonnes (MT). Conversion depends on density (Jet A-1 typically ~0.8 kg/L), giving roughly 1 MT ≈ 330–335 USG.

Tenders normalise across units automatically — suppliers quote in their preferred unit, and the airline's bid analysis is shown in the Default Unit of Measurement set in Analytics Settings.

Payment terms and cost of capital

Payment terms (Net 10, Net 30, Net 60, etc.) shift the true cost of a bid. A lower headline price with longer terms can be more expensive once the time value of money is priced in.

Tenders use the airline's WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital, set per tender in Analytics Settings) to compute a Comparative Cost of Payment Terms on the bid analysis page.

Delivery point

Each bid carries a delivery point that defines what the price covers. Tenders use these standard options:

Option	Meaning
Off Rack	Delivered into truck rack.
Off Storage	Delivered into off-airport storage.
Pipe	Delivered into pipe.
Storage2	Delivered into airport storage.
Wing	Into wing — supply only, into-plane services not included.
WingITP	Delivered into wing — fuel supply and into-plane services included.

Jet fuel grades

Grade	Notes
Jet A	Primarily United States.
Jet A-1	Global civil standard; lower freezing point than Jet A. ASTM D1655.
TS-1	Russian / CIS specification with different volatility and freeze characteristics.

Tenders define accepted grades per location; bids that quote a different grade are flagged.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

SAF appears on bids as Neat SAF (the SAF component before blending with conventional jet) split into two streams:

• Mandated — volumes required by regulation (e.g. ReFuelEU Aviation, UK SAF mandate, US LCFS).
• Voluntary — additional volumes the airline chooses to lift above the mandate.

Each stream carries its own price, currency, and units, plus a blend percentage. The bid analysis aggregates SAF cost into the comparable total alongside conventional jet.

Index-based pricing

Most term contracts price as a differential to a market index — for example Platts Singapore + 0.12 USD/USG. Tenders support the three major providers:

• S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts)
• Argus Media
• OPIS

Each index-linked offer carries its own averaging period, set per offer when the bid is placed or revised.

Need a term added?

Email [email protected].