Virgin Atlantic has purchased 37,9m litres per annum of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for seven years to be produced by biofuel company Gevo and supplied by joint-venture partner, Delta Air Lines.
The airline has been pioneering sustainability leadership for over 15 years and operates a 70% next-generation fleet. This has contributed to a reduction in the carrier’s total carbon emissions of 36% over the last decade.
After fleet transformation, SAF at scale represents the greatest opportunity to reduce carbon emissions in the next decade to help achieve Net Zero 2050. The agreement with Delta represents 20% of Virgin Atlantic’s 2030 SAF target and is equivalent to fuelling more than 500 transatlantic flights from Los Angeles.
“We know that SAF has a fundamental role to play in aviation decarbonisation. The demand from airlines is clear and Virgin Atlantic is committed to supporting the scale-up of SAF production at pace. We cannot meet our collective ambition of Net Zero 2050 without it,” says Holly Boyd Boland, VP Corporate Development at Virgin Atlantic.
“We’re proud that our fleet leads the way on fuel and carbon efficiency but we know that more needs to be done. We’re excited to be partnering with Delta to further reduce our carbon emissions on flights across the Atlantic.”
Global SAF production today still represents less than a mere 0,1% of jet fuel.
