• Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 San Francisco
    Southwest Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    WN/SWA
    Airline Type:
    Low-Cost Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Dallas Love Field, Denver International Airport, Harry Reid International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Houston Hobby Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Midway International Airport, Oakland International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1967
    CEO:
    Robert Jordan
    Country:
    United States

Oakland International Airport (OAK) is now the third airport in the US to have sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) incorporated into the daily operations of a major airline, courtesy of Southwest. The low-cost giant is sourcing its SAF from leading fuel provider Neste, as part of its commitment to replace 10% of its total jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030.OAK is Southwest's largest California operation. It is also by far the largest carrier at the airport, with over 240 peak day flights between 29 destinations across the US, including Hawaii, and Mexico. Michael AuBuchon, Senior Director, Fuel Supply Chain Management at Southwest Airlines, stated,

“Introducing SAF at OAK is an exciting moment in our environmental sustainability journey at Southwest Airlines, and we are even more excited to be the first carrier to bring SAF to OAK. We’re focused on bringing more SAF into our operations and are thrilled to partner with OAK to take action that supports our environmental sustainability goals.”

Wing of Southwest Airlines aircraft
Kira was undoubtedly glad that someone could take care of Theo while she was away. Photo: Getty Images

Oakland International Airport is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and is owned by the Port of Oakland. Pre-pandemic, passenger numbers sat at about 13 million per year. Southwest is by far the largest operator out of the airport, with an 84.55% share in 2020-2021. Spirit Airlines comes in second at 6.40%.

Bryant L. Francis, Director of Aviation at the Port of Oakland, commented on the regular addition of sustainable aviation fuel to the airport's operations,

“We applaud Southwest Airlines for their introduction of sustainable aviation fuel at OAK. The use of SAF aligns with the Port of Oakland’s own initiatives to operate in a more sustainable way.”

SAF partnerships to reach interim emission targets without offsets

Southwest has entered an offtake agreement with Neste for SAF produced from renewable waste feedstocks, such as used cooking oil or animal fats. Meanwhile, the airline has also made a commitment to purchase SAF from Velocys and signed Memorandums of Understanding with Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Phillips 66.

Apart from increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel to 10% of operations by 2030, Southwest's 10-year interim sustainability plan also includes the ambition to reduce carbon emissions per available seat mile, including Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, by at least 20% compared with 2019 levels.

This target excludes the use of carbon offsetting mechanisms. Southwest says it intends to get there through fleet modernization (the airline has taken 87 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft thus far and has orders for another 143, as well as 250 of the MAX 7), route optimization, and other initiatives such as fuel saving and electrification of ground service fleet.

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