The pandemic is affecting company sales of other fuels as well. With RavnAir shutting down, Bristol Alliance has lost a significant client accounting for 12% of Bristol Alliance’s total fuel volume.
Fuel prices have dropped across the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in Dillingham, prices have remained the same. General Manager of Bristol Alliance Fuels Joe Losciuto, says that could change soon.
“As far as the price at the pump in Dillingham, that will change one way or the other probably in the next 10 days. We will re-price it when we get the fuel, we just haven’t gotten the fuel yet,” Losciuto said.
The last delivery of unleaded gas to Dillingham and Naknek was in October of last year. Since then, fuel barges have only delivered diesel and airline fuel. Losciuto says the next barge of unleaded gas is expected to arrive within the next two weeks.
“I foresee the price of unleaded fuel going down but unfortunately it’s not going to go down at the rate which people who have seen what’s going on in Anchorage and other places seeing it happening,” he said.
Losciuto commented that Bristol Alliance generates consumer prices by blending the cost of fuel coming in with the cost of fuel already in storage and the company’s other expenses.
The pandemic is also affecting company sales of other fuels as well. With RavnAir shutting down, Bristol Alliance has lost a significant client accounting for 12% of Bristol Alliance’s total fuel volume.
“One of the big issues is with Ravn going down, we haven’t sold jet fuel pretty much since March," Losciuto explains. "Our volumes are really down and across the board, even with fishing season right now, month for month we’re only 50% of what we normally sell.”
To try to alleviate that revenue loss, Bristol Alliance is working on a contract with Alaska Airlines. The Alaska planes are unlikely to have the same demand as the former RavnAir did, however, as their planes do not necessarily have to refuel during stops in Dillingham.
KDLG reached out to Vitus Energy, but they did not respond at the time of this publication.
Contact the author at brian@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.