Procuring Fuel and Ground Handling Services at Commercial Airports

摘要

DoD pilots purchase fuel from fixed-base operators at commercial airports using into-plane contracts, the aviation into-plane reimbursement card, or local purchase procedures. DoD also uses the aviation into-plane reimbursement card and local purchase procedures to obtain ground handling services at commercial airports. DoD used the aviation into-plane reimbursement card to procure $10.5 million of fuel from May 1, 1997, through April 30, 1998. The overall audit objective was to evaluate the management of and processes used to procure, store, and account for fuels to meet U.S. European Command requirements for regional contingencies. The specific objective for this segment of the audit was to determine the most cost-effective acquisition strategy for procuring aviation fuel and to determine whether prices for ground handling services were reasonable at commercial airports. Specifically, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Material and Distribution Management) had requested that we determine whether cost-effective commercial alternatives existed for into-plane contracting and whether fixed-base operators with into- plane contracts were increasing prices charged for ground handling services to compensate for the lower fuel prices negotiated in into-plane contracts. We also reviewed the management control program as it related to the audit objective.