Southwest Airlines used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the first time in its operations at Oakland International Airport (OAK), becoming the first airline to bring SAF to Oakland. The airline remains committed to reducing carbon emissions and becoming more environmentally friendly.
Adding Neste’s SAF to Southwest’s operations was a smooth process because, after blending it with conventional jet fuel in accordance with current industry standards, it is compatible with both the airline’s fleet units and the current airport infrastructure at Oakland (OAK).
OAK is the third commercial airport in the U.S. where SAF is used in the daily operations of one of America’s largest airlines, has expressed its excitement at this new milestone.
The airline is working with corporate customers on a SAF «beta» partnership agreement to support the use of sustainable fuels in Southwest’s operations. These key partners purchased certain Scope 3 emission reduction rights from the airline’s use of SAF, which contributes to SAF’s cost premium over conventional jet fuel.
Recently the airline recently unveiled a 10-year environmental sustainability plan, Southwest has set a goal of replacing 10% of total aircraft fuel consumption with SAF by 2030. This is an important step toward the company’s long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Over the past year, Southwest has worked with a number of partners and organizations to achieve its SAF goals and drive the development of a scalable and commercially viable SAF.
See also: Southwest to invest USD 2 billion to improve customer experience
