• American Airlines (Oneworld Livery) Boeing 777-223(ER) N791AN (1)
    oneworld
    Business Type:
    Airline Alliance
    Date Founded:
    1999-02-01
    CEO:
    Rob Gurney
    Headquarters Location:
    New York, USA
    Airlines:
    Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines

Airlines in the oneworld Alliance are planning on using up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2027. They will purchase it from a US-based renewable fuels provider to operate on routes at airports in California.

Net zero targets to be powered by SAF

oneworld Alliance aircraft operating from California will be partially fuelled by SAF for a period of five years. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways are expected to use SAF from the airports they operate from in the state. Many of the airlines operate international flights from these airports and the use of SAF will reduce the carbon footprint over some long sectors. At the announcement, oneworld Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said,

As the aviation industry continues to face new challenges, today’s announcement underlines the positive outcome of the multilateral collaboration between industry stakeholders. It reaffirms the leadership of our alliance in supporting the ambitious aviation decarbonisation targets, as well as our active role in driving the use of ICAO recognised SAF at a commercial scale.

The fuel will be supplied by Gevo, a renewable fuels producer based in the state of Colorado. Gevo will supply the airlines with SAF at some of the largest airports in California, including San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles International Airports.

British Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

2050 net zero target for oneworld

The alliance had already announced, in October 2021, ambitious proposals to use SAF for 10% of fuel volumes by 2030. This was followed by an announcement to purchase over 350 million gallons of SAF from Aemetis for flights from San Francisco. The deals are intended to help oneworld achieve the pledge made in September 2020 to realize net zero carbon emissions by 2050. oneworld CEO Rob Gurney believes that the latest announcement demonstrates the benefit of the alliance and reinforces the commitment by oneworld, stating,

Five months ago, we committed as an alliance to a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. Today’s announcement of a second major sustainable aviation fuel offtake among member airlines builds further upon that commitment, while demonstrating the value that can be delivered when our member airlines work together.

san francisco aircraft
Photo: Getty Images

Gevo will be supplying SAF to oneworld members in California and it will be produced at several facilities in the USA. Gevo's SAF is anticipated to be made using corn products that will be used to develop ethanol, which will then be converted to SAF, to be mixed with jet fuel. Gevo's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Patrick R. Gruber stated the importance of SAF to help in the transition to net zero for oneworld, when he said,

When oneworld member airlines show they understand the importance of reducing fossil-carbon greenhouse gas emissions, they start making real change in the industry. Eliminating fossil-based emissions from the life-cycle of jet fuel is our mission. Net-Zero SAF is what we all want. I’m pleased that oneworld is on board.

The latest announcement from oneworld confirms their commitment to SAF on routes from the USA, following on from the initial pledges to achieve net zero and then the commitment to purchasing SAF. Whilst SAF may not in itself be the solution to aviation achieving net zero, oneworld Alliance members are certainly intending that it has a large role in the transition and California is about to see how they plan on accomplishing this.