Tag Archives: SAF fuel

Emirates has become the world’s first airline to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Today’s flight, proudly commanded by Captain Khalid Binsultan and Captain Philippe Lombet, took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) with one of four engines powered on 100% SAF, helping demonstrate its potential as a drop-in replacement that matches jet fuel’s technical and chemical requirements, while being a more sustainable alternative. SAF can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85%* over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to conventional jet fuel. Demonstration flights like the one conducted today pave the way for future standardisation, qualification and adoption for 100% SAF flying, as governments adopt broader strategies to support the production and scale up of SAF. The A380 demonstration flight underlines the performance and compatibility of SAF, making it a safe and reliable fuel source, and contributes to the growing body of research carried out by the industry to evaluate the beneficial effects of 100% SAF on aircraft performance. SAF is currently capped at a 50% blend limit in engines for commercial flights. The Emirates A380 demonstration flight comes as the aviation industry, international organisations, regulatory bodies and high-level officials driving policy-related decisions converge in Dubai for the Third International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3). Dedicated collaborators from Airbus, Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney, Neste, Virent and ENOC have been working on the testing, technical assessments and data analysis for today’s flight. The 100% drop-in SAF used on today’s flight includes renewable aromatics and closely mimics the characteristics of conventional jet fuel. This is the first time that drop-in SAF has been used on an A380 aircraft, …

Qatar Airways has signed a deal with Shell to source 3,000 metric tonnes of neat Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. It encompasses the existing jet fuel contract with Shell at Amsterdam which will now see Qatar Airways using at least a 5 per cent SAF blend over the contract period for the fiscal year 2023-2024. The Qatar Airways bilateral agreement with Shell is part of a wider effort initiated by the oneworld alliance, which has a set target of using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for 10% of combined fuel volumes by 2030. Qatar Airways is the first carrier in the Middle East and Africa to procure a large SAF amount in Europe beyond government SAF mandates. SAF offers significant potential for decarbonisation as neat SAF can reduce full lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.[1] This means that Qatar Airways will be reducing its emissions on flights from Amsterdam by approximately 7,500 tonnes of CO2 for the fiscal year. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “At Qatar Airways, we are strongly committed to supporting the industry’s effort to ramp-up the use of sustainable aviation fuel, as one of the key pillars to decarbonise the aviation industry. Last year, we signed our first offtake agreement in the US, and now we are placing a multi-million US dollar SAF deal in Amsterdam to illustrate our SAF commitment and reiterate our calls for a more robust SAF supply chain across our global network”. “We remain steadfast in our ambitious target of 10 per cent SAF use by 2030 and this  announcement, establishes another landmark for Qatar Airways that underlines the positive …