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 during the 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 Company, 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 2022, Airbus Delivery Centre in Tianjin has offered customers the option of a five 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% reduction in CO2 emissions across the entire SAF lifecycle. Therefore, it is considered as 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 a SAF consumption of over 20,000 tonnes 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 8 A320neo family aircraft. All three airlines are committed to sustainable development in their daily operations.
