Sorry; what I meant was out of all French TOTAL-only airfields, what % have C+I.
There are about 100 airports with a TOTAL automate for 100LL. Of these, approximately 20 are “points de passage frontalier”.
I’ve had a quick look at C+I then those which are Total-only, and found 12:
I expanded the definition to ‘Total-only at the weekend’ as several are otherwise ATS hours only, e.g. Mon-Fri 0800-1100, 1300-1600).
I got fuel at LFMU and LFOV, no TOTAL card.
Anyway, my point stands. It depends on what sort of flying one does 
Well… at the risk of ruffling some feathers, I don’t understand why we don’t boycott the whole scheme.
BP, Total, whatever. When on the move (or more precisely in between 
), all I want is fuel, Mogas being the 1st priority for me.
Total, BP, WTF. We just need the F…..g fuel, not the brand!
So, Total, BP, and future contenders, what about having, like in some countries already implemented, simple terminals in which we just insert our favorite credit, eventually debit, plastic card… and just refuel?
Is it too much to ask?
I think Poitiers LFBI is also a Total card pump for avgas and C+I albeit with PN.
Like Dan I too wish more airfields had mogas and any credit card pumps.
@Dan, my feathers arent ruffled, but there is an alternate point of view :
The French Total/Automate system works extremely well for French aeroclubs and their pilots, which are the majority in France, obviously…. Often the based aeroclub, which is run by volunteers remember, runs the airfield on behalf of the local marie which owns the airfield. With a total automate installed, no one needs to be at the aerodrome to provide fuel, but its available for all, and has Total assurance of quality so there is no aeroclub liability. Plus it is so much easier for an aeroclub to have a card with every aeroplane and one bill every month, than have to work out the receipts for individual pilots credit card purchases…
Regards, SD..
has Total assurance of quality so there is no aeroclub liability.
I hope nobody actually says that bit with a straight face
Plus it is so much easier for an aeroclub to have a card with every aeroplane and one bill every month, than have to work out the receipts for individual pilots credit card purchases
Isn’t that a bit like what kept AMEX in business long after most shops stopped accepting AMEX? It’s a fair point but it could be implemented with any credit card.
I think the real reason why TOTAL push for a monopoly is that they keep the payment commission to themselves. They are not exactly a nice company when you look at how they were giving away bowsers (in the UK) to anybody willing to carry their 91UL, in a push to stop airports carrying 100LL, which fortunately most airports were not stupid enough to do. Carrying two fuels would reduce their purchasing and reduce their margins.
skydriller wrote:
The French Total/Automate system works extremely well for French aeroclubs and their pilots, which are the majority in France, obviously…. Often the based aeroclub, which is run by volunteers remember, runs the airfield on behalf of the local marie which owns the airfield. With a total automate installed, no one needs to be at the aerodrome to provide fuel, but its available for all, and has Total assurance of quality so there is no aeroclub liability. Plus it is so much easier for an aeroclub to have a card with every aeroplane and one bill every month, than have to work out the receipts for individual pilots credit card purchases…
No-one needs to be at the aerodrome to provide fuel if you just have a credit card terminal either.
It’s only “available for all” if you define all as those who are prepared to set up an account with a large company that they would prefer to have no relationship with, as well as providing that company with a cashflow subsidy by keeping a positive balance on the account.
I’m pretty sure Total’s liability ends when they deliver the fuel to the site. If there is contamination or a leak, their terms are going to place responsibility for that firmly on the airfield.
There’s no reason each aeroplane can’t just have it’s own credit card rather than a Total card. This is done everywhere with fleets of vehicles that are treated as a pool rather than being assigned to a particular user.
I’m with @Dan here, they simply don’t get my custom. The idea that in order to buy fuel I have to sign up to their proprietary payment method and provide them with a cashflow subsidy is beyond absurd. The ‘marie-owned airfield’ system is nice in terms of infrastructure provision but probably helps prop up the Total racket because no-one cares whether there is any traffic. If a GA airfield in the UK became Total card only then it would be deserted overnight… the market is good for some things.
Skydriller makes a very good point about the aeroclub environment and fuel.
We used to have an 100LL pump provided by Total but not self service.
Total sold and delivered the fuel. The club were responsible for ordering it and doing regular testing of things like specific gravity. The club paid for all the fuel and does not take credit cards so would only sell to travellers by cash or a French cheque.The Mairie received €0.10 on every litre sold. The cost of installing a pump which took, even just a Total card was much to high for the club and the town hall.
When a reservoir started to leak we had to stop selling Avgas as the demand for it had decreased dramatically and the cost of replacing the reservoir would have been far too high to ever pay for itself.
Nowadays pilots needing Avgas make a special private arrangement with one of the onfield maintenance companies. That means prior agreement with someone at the maintenance company to be there, payment in cash or French cheque much like it was with the club but more restrictive in hours of availability.
So whilst I agree totally with what skydriller has written it should be possible at airfields which sell enough Avgas to make it economically viable to install pumps which take any credit card.
