Air Canada purchases 9.5M litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Air Canada marked Earth Day (April 22) by announcing the purchase of 9.5 million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). 

The airline says it continues advancing initiatives in its Climate Action Plan by strengthening its partnership with SAF producer, Neste, to power flights with Neste "MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel" from San Francisco International Airport. 

The 9.5 million litres of SAF will generate GHG reductions of approximately 23,500 tonnes of CO2e calculated based on a full lifecycle assessment. 

The 23,500 tonnes of CO2e are equivalent to the annual GHG emissions absorbed by 28,000 acres of forest as per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency equivalencies calculator.

"At Air Canada, we have adopted a multifaceted approach to addressing climate change and sustainability. Environmental and social factors are incorporated into our strategic decisions, as are our fleet purchases and daily operations through our support of low-carbon alternatives. SAF comprises one of our core pillars in pursuing our net-zero emission targets. We have been purchasing Neste's SAF since February 2022. Today's announced purchase represents a five-fold increase in our SAF procurement year over year and is an important step towards our target of one per cent fuel to be SAF by 2025, supporting our journey towards our 2050 net zero decarbonization goals," said Michael Rousseau, president and CEO at Air Canada.

Through Air Canada's Leave Less Travel Program, corporate customers and cargo freight forwarders can purchase SAF, carbon offsets or a combination of both to offset or reduce GHG emissions related to business travel or cargo shipments, mitigating their carbon footprint. 

This program is one of the many comprehensive initiatives being implemented as part of Air Canada's Climate Action Plan.

Powering aircraft with SAF directly reduces GHG at the source. Sustainable aviation fuel provides an alternative to conventional, fossil-based jet fuel. It is widely recognized as a key lever towards achieving aviation's GHG emission reduction goals. 

Using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel could reduce GHG emissions by up to 80 per cent over the fuel's life cycle, compared to conventional jet fuel.

The current global SAF supply remains extremely limited, costly, and insufficient to support worldwide demand. 

Air Canada says it looks forward to working with the Government of Canada to advance the availability and generate a meaningful supply of Canada-produced SAF for commercial aviation which would also support Canada's position on climate change, the country's environment goals, as well as the Canadian aviation industry which is an important economic contributor. 

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