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Local Gas Station Charging Over $4 Per Gallon Near OIA

Posted: 5:02 pm EST December 28, 2007Updated: 5:32 pm EST December 28, 2007

There was a break for the holidays, but gas prices are ready to rise again. One local gas station, though, is already charging customers much more than others.


RAW INTERVIEW: Manager Defends $4.49 Per Gallon

Customers at the independent gas station near the Orlando International Airport are paying $4.49 a gallon. Some of the customers don't know the price they're paying until it's too late.

There are no large signs showing the prices at the station. Most customers are tourists returning rental cars before catching flights at Orlando International Airport. Not all believe it's an honorable way to conduct business.

"It's not fair. It's definitely price gouging during the holiday season," said tourist Les Lazarus.

Even at $4.49 a gallon for regular, most of the pumps were busy at Suncoast Energys on Friday morning.

"We're kinda in a rush, 'cause we have a flight at 12. So we just found the first gas station we could find," said tourist Michael Morris.

It's a convenience game, targeting tourists in a rush to return their rental cars across the street. The agencies there charge about $7.50 a gallon for unfilled gas tanks and the Canadian tourists who are used to paying the equivalent of $3.70 a gallon chalk it up to the cost of a vacation.

"You have gallons, we have liters. It's hard to compare," said Canadian tourist Harry Gibbs.

But one Georgia man took one look at the price and thought twice.

"Four dollars and fifty cents. I didn't see that! Wow!" said tourist Brandon Mason, before deciding not to fill up.

Just a half mile up the boulevard, roadside signs show 7-Eleven and Racetrac are selling gas for less than $3 a gallon, a dollar and a half less.

At Suncoast Energys, there are no roadside signs alerting motorists to its prices. The manager admits he doesn't have to compete less than two miles from the airport.

"We don't post the price of milk, either. We're not required to. This is where it needs to be, right at the point of sale," said manager Bob Barnes.

Suncoast Energys was affiliated with Chevron, but it pulled out, apparently tired of the complaints about pricing. Suncoast has had 16 complaints with the Better Business Bureau since it became a member in October 2006.

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