Sustainability has reached a new peak in China's aviation industry, as Airbus delivered a new Airbus A320neo, and the delivery flight was powered by a 5% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend. The aircraft took off from the Airbus Delivery Centre in Tianjin and was well-received by China Eastern Airlines.

China Eastern Airlines' introduction to SAF was years ago when it obtained the Number 1 Bio-Jet Fuel Chartered Flight License in April 2013, issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The first successful test flight used biofuel made from palm oil and flew for 85 minutes after departing from Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport.

Airbus goes green in China

However, the delivery flight of its latest Airbus A320neo was the first time SAF was used to deliver a single-aisle Airbus aircraft in China, opening the doors for the aircraft manufacturer to embark on a green journey within the country.

Unlike previous SAF delivery flights conducted by Airbus from Europe, the SAF used for the China Eastern Airlines delivery was purchased by the aircraft manufacturer from the China National Aviation Fuel Group. The SAF was then refined and produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, a state-owned fuel manufacturer in China.

The SAF was produced from used cooking oil and was the first batch of SAF made by the only certified Chinese facility. George XU, Airbus Executive Vice-President & Chief Executive Officer of Airbus China, said:

"The first SAF delivery flight of Airbus aircraft in Tianjin marks a historic milestone for Airbus and particularly for us in China. It is a significant step towards our vision of contributing to sustainable aviation as a long-term reliable partner in China."

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Paving the way for greener delivery flights

Currently, all Airbus commercial aircraft are capable of flying with an up to 50% SAF blend mixed with kerosene and are targeted to be capable of using 100% SAF in flight by the end of this decade. While SAF-powered delivery flights are more common in Europe, Airbus aims to do the same in China.

With the China Eastern Airlines delivery flight opening the doors, all airline customers receiving their aircraft from the Tianjin plant can now choose to use some percentage of SAF for their delivery flights, as confirmed by Xu:

"Thanks to the joint effort and the consensus on sustainability between our partners and us, we will be able to offer such sustainable solutions to all customers taking delivery from our Tianjin facilities. As we advance, we also aim to partner with more Airbus operators in China to fly commercially with SAF to further support China's green aviation strategy.”

This means that Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Shenzhen Airlines could use SAF for their future Airbus delivery flights after these four carriers set a sales record of buying nearly 300 aircraft in a single day earlier this year.

Bottom line

Given the large aviation market in China, it's worth acknowledging how the country has consistently been ranked amongst the top three for emitting the most carbon dioxide and contributing to nearly 15% of global aviation emissions.

Although China has taken to specific initiatives at its airports and despite the efforts of Chinese carriers in reducing emissions, the country has only managed to present an average of 2% emission reduction every year in per seat per mile emissions. With Airbus introducing the option of powering delivery flights with SAF, the decarbonization of the Chinese aviation industry can accelerate.

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  China Eastern Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  MU/CES

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Year Founded:

  1988

  Alliance:

  SkyTeam

  CEO:

  Liu Shaoyong

  Country:

  China

  Hub(s):

  Shanghai Pudong International Airport

  Region:

  Asia

• 

  Airbus

  Stock Code:

  AIR

  Date Founded:

  1970-12-18

  CEO:

  Guillaume Faury

  Headquarters Location:

  Toulouse, France

  Key Product Lines:

  Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

  Business Type:

  Planemaker