Air New Zealand has acquired 30 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced by Neste, which will be used for its flights in Los Angeles and San Francisco until February 2026. The incorporation of SAF will represent an 80% reduction in carbon emissions over its lifecycle compared to traditional jet fuel. Neste produces this SAF in Singapore using fully renewable waste and residue raw materials, such as animal fat remnants and used cooking oil.
This purchase accounts for 1.6% of the New Zealand airline’s supply for fiscal year 2025, meeting its SAF target for the upcoming year, which aims to quadruple the volume of sustainable fuel the airline used in fiscal year 2024.
Air New Zealand aims to reach 10% SAF usage by 2030 and is also investing in studies for domestic production in New Zealand using raw materials like woody biomass. The airline continues to implement strategies to reduce its environmental impact and set sustainability goals.
«We are proud to support Air New Zealand’s efforts to increase its use of SAF as a key lever to reduce aviation emissions. This supply of our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Los Angeles and San Francisco airports is another great step in our cooperation, and we look forward to continuing to work together with Air New Zealand to achieve its climate goals,» said Alexander Kueper, Vice President of Renewable Aviation Business at Neste.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently reported that by 2024, 1.3 billion liters of SAF will be produced, doubling the 600 million liters manufactured in 2023. SAF constituted 0.3% of global jet fuel production and 11% of global renewable fuel production. This is significantly lower than earlier projections, which estimated SAF production of 1.9 billion liters for 2024, as major SAF production facilities in the United States have delayed production until the first half of 2025.
