American Airlines to buy 500 million tonnes SAF to drive efficiency

American Airlines has finalised an agreement with biofuel company Gevo, Inc. to purchase 500 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over five years, the most significant SAF offtake commitment to date for the carrier. “The announcement is a historic step forward for American and our industry as we work to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Jill Blickstein, Vice President, Sustainability, American Airlines. “The use of SAF is a cornerstone of our strategy to decarbonise air travel. While this landmark investment represents meaningful action by American Airlines, driving progress at the scale and pace we need requires critical policy action in Washington and at the state level. Alongside our oneworld partners, we’re proud to lead the way in the shift to SAF and make progress toward our shared climate goals.” American’s Gevo agreement was developed alongside others in the oneworld alliance, said a statement from the airline. “In September 2020, oneworld became the first global airline alliance to announce a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, establishing its commitment to long-term sustainability for the industry. The alliance followed up the commitment with an intermediate goal to achieve 10 percent SAF use across member airlines by 2030.”