Air France-KLM signs 1st travel-management company in UK, Ireland to corporate SAF program

From left, Simon Spinks, head of sales in the U.K. and Ireland for Air France-KLM; Lauren Chilcott, CT Business Travel team leader; and William Panien, national account manager business sales for the U.K. and Ireland with Air France-KLM (Photo: Air France-KLM)

Air France-KLM recently welcomed CT Business Travel as the first travel-management company (TMC) in the U.K. and Ireland to join the Air France-KLM Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program, making a further step towards reducing the CO2 footprint of air travel.

SAF proactively reduces emissions by up to 80 percent compared to fossil fuels and contributes to a circular economy.

SAF is a jet fuel made from renewable sources like used cooking oil and is a durable substitute to fossil fuel.

It blends perfectly with conventional jet fuel for use in engines of all aircraft, without impacting current processes or operations.

Air France and KLM are actively working on their ambitious road map towards decarbonization.

Next to fleet modernization and more-efficient operations, SAF is a major lever towards reducing the environmental impact of air travel.

Air France and KLM have been involved for many years in research and development programs in the field of alternative fuels and in 2011 were among the first to operate commercial flights with SAF, demonstrating that usage of nonfossil fuels is possible.

However, currently, less than 1 percent of the fuel used on commercial flights comes from sustainable sources, and this needs to change.

The corporate SAF program allows Air France-KLM to partner with organizations to accelerate the production and usage of SAF, and thus pave the way towards making SAF more readily available with the aim to contribute to a more sustainable future in aviation.

With this partnership, CT Business Travel has actively chosen to support Air France-KLM's corporate SAF program as the airline looks to transition from the use of conventional fossil fuel to SAF, supporting and contributing its journey to address the global ecological challenges facing the aviation and wider travel industry.

“We now welcome the first TMC in the U.K. into our SAF program,” said Fahmi Mahjoub, general manager of Air France-KLM in the U.K. and Ireland. “This is a major step forward in addressing our sustainability challenge as an aviation company by partnering with a travel-management company like CT Business Travel to help the environment. Today marks the start of a new level of cooperation across the industry and we hope that this news helps spread the awareness in the U.K. and that more companies will join us in making SAF more readily available around the globe.”

Clare Collins, managing director and owner of CT Business Travel, added, “We are proud to be the first TMC in U.K. and Ireland to partner with Air France-KLM with their ongoing sustainability initiatives and investments into SAF technology. We know that aviation and the wider travel industry are both vital elements of economic growth that hugely support, not only the U.K. and Irish economies, but many countries in terms of development and infrastructure. However, climate change is a worldwide issue and should be treated as such, therefore by taking responsibility and contributing, we are helping to support and protect not just the planet but the future of our industry. As a business, we have chosen to take these steps to support and collaborate with Air France-KLM and we hope this encourages other industry partners to do the same.”