The directors of a northwest suburban airport have again rejected pilots' request for self-serve fuel, continuing a stalemate over high gas prices during a continued decline in small plane flights.

The board of Chicago Executive Airport voted 5-0 Wednesday against offering self-service aviation gas, despite a petition from nearly 200 pilots asking for it.

Board member William Kearns said he welcomes small planes, "but ... we service many masters."

If the airport were to install its own self-serve fueling stations, he said, it would be competing with its own major tenants: companies that provide a variety of services including gas-pumping for both small planes and larger corporate jets, the latter of which generate much of the revenue at the field.

Members of the Chicago Executive Pilots' Association, which made the request, were disappointed but not surprised. The debate over allowing self-serve fuel has been raging for more than a decade at the airport, which is located in and jointly owned by Wheeling and Prospect Heights.

As an alternative, Signature Flight Support, one of the three fixed-base operators which provide fuel at the airport, offered to provide fuel to the pilots' group for US$4.45 a gallon, plus a US$30 annual fee, for a nine-month test period.

Madeleine Monaco, president of the pilots group, rejected the offer, saying it would do little good for non-members, including all the airplane owners who fly in from other airports.

"If they'd offer it to everybody," she said, "we'd line up."

In a recent survey of gas prices conducted by the pilots using an airport database, 100 octane aviation fuel cost US$6.29 per gallon at Chicago Executive, compared with an average price of US$4.36 at the 16 closest airports. Most of the airports offer self-service fuel.

The debate comes as general aviation, which includes all civilian flying except scheduled commercial airlines, has seen a significant in decline recent years, both nationwide and at Chicago Executive, which used to be called Palwaukee Municipal Airport.

Last year there were about 75,000 flights in and out of the airport, down from 180,000 in 2000.

Board member Neal Katz urged the board to find another way to satisfy the pilots' request.

"We as a board need to stand up and say, 'What can we do to make this a competitively priced product?' "