United Airlines has revealed plans to start using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on flights departing from San Francisco International Airport in California.
The airline says it is also considering using SAF blends at London Heathrow Airport in the U.K. later this year. The move could see the airline using about 10 million gallons of SAF in 2023, which is nearly three times more than what was used in 2022 and almost 10 times more than the amount utilized in 2019.
“It’s remarkable to see that in just a few years United has exponentially increased its SAF use,” said Lauren Riley, Chief Sustainability Officer of United. “While 10 million gallons of SAF in 2023 represents a fraction of what we need, we have also made big investments in producers that are using everything from ethanol to algae, to CO2, to help increase our available future supply.”
The SAF deliveries began at San Francisco Airport in April, with United receiving 1.5 million gallons of SAF for departing flights. The remainder of United’s SAF supply will also be used at Los Angeles International Airport in the U.S. and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The airline has been using SAF blends at Los Angeles Airport since 2016 and at Schiphol Airport since 2022.
The SAF used by the carrier in Amsterdam and San Francisco is supplied by energy firm Neste. The fuel, known as Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel, is produced from sustainably sourced, 100-percent renewable waste and residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste. Compared to traditional jet fuel, using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent over the fuel’s life cycle, the companies say.
More on SAF in EnergyTech
Alaska Airlines partnering on SAF Mission
JetBlue contracts with Shell on SAF supply
In the future, SAF could also be made from other feedstocks, including compressed CO2, algae, forest waste or household trash, United notes.
“We believe these investments, along with our continued collaboration with policymakers, cross-industry businesses, and other airlines will help us scale this brand-new industry to achieve comparable success to solar and wind,” Riley added.
United’s Eco-Skies Alliance program, which was launched in April 2021, will partly fund the SAF used on its flights. The program allows participating companies to work together to share the cost of purchasing lower-emission fuels. The new participants in the Eco-Skies Alliance program include Audi, Bank of America, Cisco, Corporate Travel Management, DB Schenker, First Eagle Investments, Macquarie Group, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
