Car drivers aren’t the only ones suffering at the gas pump these days. The price of Jet-A, the fuel which powers the vast majority of jet aircraft, has risen 83% since this time last year, and over 20% just since January. While a variety of factors have contributed—from low refinery capacity to geopolitical instability to an ever-weakening dollar—the general effect has been the same: higher costs for both private jet travel providers and their customers.

The cost of Jet-A varies from region to region, and in some cases, from FBO to FBO. At the end of March, jet fuel was more than 10% more expensive in New York than it was in Louisiana. Most private jet travel providers are vigilant in making deals with FBOs to keep fuel costs down, but it’s good to keep abreast of regional differences in prices, if for no better reason than understanding your bill.

Charter operators will quote fuel costs, which are lower than the actual amount they pay, even when fuel prices are flat, as a way of securing a booking. But with steadily rising fuel costs, this practice can lead to even more severe sticker shock. In most cases the fuel charge for a charter flight is incurred at the time that the flight takes place—you pay the cost of Jet-A for the date of your travel, not the day you book your flight. It is important to keep this potential bump in mind, particularly if you make your travel arrangements far in advance.

While high fuel costs will eat into margins across the board, certain operators whose businesses are more tailored towards efficiency may be able to capitalize on the situation. All providers pass on fuel costs to customers, but those which factor it directly into billing as opposed to issuing a separate fuel charge are less likely to be perceived as gouging. XO Jet, which charges a single operating cost indexed to a national fuel average, for one, is leveraged to take advantage of the current volatility of oil prices. Not only is the company geared towards aggressively negotiating fuel prices with FBOs, but its fleet of super-midsize Cessna Citation X aircraft are optimized for low fuel burn and high speeds.

Other factors may see private jet providers actually benefiting from the high price of fuel. Higher fuel costs are making airline flights to and from smaller regional airports unprofitable. With the bottom line already under threat, regional routes are often the first to fall under the axe. In the absence of viable commercial flights, charter operators may see a swell in business to these now less accessible destinations. This could be exactly the sort of fortuitous situation that gives air taxi models the boost they need to get off the ground.

Incidentally, the shutdown of ATA and Aloha Airlines, victims of the ever-narrowing margins of commercial aviation, precipitated a public relations announcement by Blue Star Jets encouraging those airlines’ customers look into booking charter flights with them for their next trip to Hawaii. While it remains to be seen whether discount airline customers will migrate to private jet travel (perhaps unlikely), moves like this do underscore the opportunity for private jet travel providers to pick up the slack of the weakening commercial carriers.