4AIR, Del Monte Aviation, Monterey Fuel Co. coordinate SAF offering at Monterey Regional Airport

4AIR, is facilitating a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offering at Monterey Regional Airport with fixed base operator (FBO) Del Monte Aviation and the Monterey Fuel Company LLC. Flexjet, a global leader in private jet travel, is the launch customer, and will uplift only SAF for its aircraft taking on fuel at Monterey. (Photo: Business Wire)

4AIR, the first and only rating system focused on comprehensive sustainability in private aviation, announced Aug. 4 that it is facilitating a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offering at Monterey Regional Airport with fixed base operator (FBO) Del Monte Aviation and the Monterey Fuel Company LLC. Flexjet, a global leader in private jet travel, is the launch customer and will uplift only SAF for its aircraft taking on fuel at Monterey.

“The use of sustainable aviation fuel goes beyond offsetting emissions to bring in-sector reductions in the near term, which ultimately is the next phase for aviation sustainability,” said Kennedy Ricci, 4AIR’s president. “We congratulate Flexjet, as Monterey’s launch customer for SAF, for joining us in taking this significant step forward.”

Del Monte Aviation at the Monterey Regional Airport offers as a fuel option Avfuel’s Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM to aircraft owners and operators fueling at Monterey Regional Airport. Now, 4AIR will facilitate user documentation for aircraft uplifting SAF at Monterey, beginning with Flexjet. Since June 7, Flexjet has uplifted only SAF in Monterey. 4AIR will provide all documentation and sustainability accounting to prove transfer of ownership and accurate emissions reductions calculations.

“More and more operators are committing to decrease the CO2 footprint of their flight operations through the use of SAF,” said Matthew Wright, Del Monte Aviation general manager. “Our collaboration with Avfuel and Neste on the supply side and 4AIR and Flexjet on the user side is truly game changing in providing access to SAF.”

The 4AIR rating framework promotes SAF as one of its highest-valued emissions strategies and offers benchmarks that are aligned with industrywide carbon reduction goals and consistent with international standards. The framework offers various levels, each with specific, science-based goals, independently verified results and progressively greater impacts on sustainability.

Participants in 4AIR’s rating system that commit to using SAF can be rated at 4AIR Level 3 (Gold) –Beyond Neutral, which enables them to go beyond emissions neutrality to actually reducing emissions by at least 5 percent through solutions such as using SAF or purchasing SAF credits through 4AIR.

Monterey Car Week, which kicks off in early August and is held annually along Monterey County’s Pacific coast in California, features automotive events, including exhibitions, auctions and rallies that conclude at the world-renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The events draw an audience that include many attendees who arrive via private aircraft.

To reduce the emissions associated with Monterey Car Week’s air traffic, 4AIR and Del Monte Aviation have committed to providing outbound private aircraft flights at Monterey Regional Airport the option to fuel with SAF. Del Monte Aviation has secured more than 24,000 additional gallons of 30 percent blended SAF for aircraft being serviced through the airport for Monterey Car Week private jet traffic. 4AIR will cover the premium cost of SAF over the cost of traditional jet fuel for operators uplifting during the event and while supplies last. 4AIR will manage all of the SAF accounting and documentation for the offering. In addition, all inbound and outbound flights to Del Monte Aviation will be offset to 4AIR Level 1, meaning all air travel to and from Del Monte Aviation for Monterey Car Week will be carbon-neutral.