Airbus, airline partners facilitate commercial SAF flights in China

Photo: Airbus

Airbus has signed agreements with Xiamen Airlines, Zhejiang Loong Airlines and Colorful Guizhou Airlines to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for commercial flights in China.

The partnership was announced earlier this month during an Airbus press conference at the 14th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition.

With these agreements, Airbus and Airbus’ Chinese operators further support the green-aviation strategy in China.

The SAF for the above-mentioned commercial flights is produced locally from used cooking oil by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co., a state-owned manufacturer in China.

The Chinese SAF made by the only certified Chinese facility is also used for delivery flights from Airbus Tianjin.

Since October, the Airbus Delivery Centre in Tianjin has offered customers the option of a 5 percent SAF fuel blend for all single-aisle A320neo family and A350 wide-body aircraft-delivery flights.

SAF is a sustainably produced aviation fuel made from feedstocks ranging from used fat, oil and grease to municipal and forestry waste.

Compared to fossil jet fuel, SAF has been demonstrated to result in an up to 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions across the entire SAF lifecycle. It is considered a key enabler to contribute to the decarbonization of aviation.

The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Green Development of Civil Aviation issued by CAAC states that it is necessary to implement a low-carbon development strategy, promote breakthroughs in the commercial application of SAF, and strive to achieve SAF consumption of more than 20,000 metric tons by 2025.

Xiamen Airlines has become the newest Airbus customer in China by placing a firm order for 40 A320neo family aircraft this September.

Zhejiang Loong Airlines operates an Airbus passenger aircraft fleet made up of 64 A320 family aircraft.

Colorful Guizhou Airlines has a fleet of eight A320neo family aircraft.

All three airlines are committed to sustainable development in their daily operations, according to Airbus.