Air New Zealand has made the purchase from Neste’s Singapore refinery, which expanded its SAF production capabilities last year.
The SAF will be used on Air New Zealand flights out of Los Angeles International Airport.
Sustainable aviation fuel is made from primarily waste sources, including used cooking oil and municipal waste, and can reduce the carbon emissions of a flight by up to 80 per cent when compared with traditional jet fuel. The SAF is blended with traditional jet fuel when it is used.
The use of SAF will significantly lower the carbon footprint of the business events sector across staff, delegate and speaker travel in addition to freight of event materials.
“While the SAF supply is small compared with the airline’s overall fuel use, it is nine times the size of Air New Zealand’s first shipment of SAF from Neste in 2022 and demonstrates growing cooperation between two like-minded organisations to advance the supply and use of SAF,” said Air New Zealand’s chair Dame Therese Walsh.
“Decarbonising Air New Zealand’s operations is essential for the airline’s long-term ability to connect New Zealanders to the world, as well as support the country’s trade and tourism sectors, and SAF is a key enabler of this.”
“Sustainable aviation fuel is currently the only solution to significantly reduce emissions from long haul flight, but it currently makes up less than one per cent of the global fuel supply. For aviation to reach its net zero carbon emissions goals by 2050, the SAF industry will need to scale significantly.”
Australia’s national carrier, Qantas, bought its first 10 million litres of SAF in early 2022, for flights out of London Heathrow.
The airline has also signed agreements to start receiving SAF at Los Angeles International Airport in 2025 and will have access to up to 500 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel through its partnership with Airbus and Boeing from 2028. This represents 90 per cent of the SAF need for Qantas to meet its target of having SAF make up 10 per cent of its fuel mix by 2030.
