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The venture units of oil firms Saudi Aramco and Italy's ENI have joined the world's largest passenger carrier United Airlines to invest in British start-up OXCCU's efforts to slash the prohibitively high cost of lower-carbon aviation fuel, the companies said on Wednesday. Aviation produces around 2% of the world's planet-warming emissions and the sector's own targets to emit no more than can be absorbed by natural sinks like forests or other technologies by 2050 pose a particularly daunting challenge. The $22.7m investment, led by US-based investor Clean Energy Ventures, will go to Oxford University-affiliated scientists at OXCCU, one of several companies that have been searching for ways to replace kerosene and gasoline in plane engines. OXCCU says it can make fuel by combining carbon dioxide captured from industry or power plants with hydrogen made using renewably sourced electricity. Its breakthrough is in using an iron-based catalyst to do this in one step, replacing the pricier two-stage process that is usually needed to bring about the chemical reaction. Streamlining the process in this way knocks 50% off the capital cost and produces fewer byproducts, the companies said in a statement.<br/>

On World Environment Day, Avianca Airlines announced that it was recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project as one of the best airlines in Latin America for its climate change management. On this occasion, the airline obtained a "B" rating, one of the highest scores awarded by the international organization. This result follows a rigorous evaluation of the airline's actions concerning climate change, including governance, risk and opportunities, business strategy, objectives and behavior, methodology and emissions data, energy, biodiversity and carbon pricing, among other items. In addition, Avianca announced today that it received ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System certification for its administrative buildings in Bogota and aircraft maintenance and ground support equipment in Medellin, Ecuador and El Salvador. Although the airline industry represents an impact of only 3% of global emissions, Avianca, as well as the airline industry as a whole, takes action for the environment and seeks to improve the results of its operations. Among the company's initiatives are its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint through investment in new technologies, infrastructure and efficient operations, as well as the implementation of strategies to offset emissions. In 2022 alone, the offset was 735,000 tons of CO2, corresponding to 90% of the emissions generated by its domestic operations in Colombia. Avianca has also partnered with CHOOOSE, a platform that has allowed both customers and Avianca employees to directly offset the footprint of their flights.<br/>

Kenya Airways and South African Airways are looking to accelerate development of their pan-African airline strategic partnership after completing the first phase of their link-up. The two African carriers first announced plans in 2021 for a strategic partnership to work together on potentially establishing a pan-African airline holding group. That was followed last year by the sealing of a codeshare agreement between the two carriers. However, the leaders of both airlines stress that is just the start of a wider partnership beyond the two operators. “We have done phase one of our partnership with SAA, which is just the fundamentals of co-operation, codeshares, working the joint venture together, sharing technical support, lounges,” Kenya Airways CE Allan Kilavuka told FlightGlobal at the IATA AGM in Istanbul. ”But the reason we did that first phase is so we can continue building chemistry as we move towards a bigger cooperation. The next phase is helping to solidify or confirm the structure of the pan-African group, and this is not just us and SAA. We are just anchors. SAA is one of many partners we can work with... The reason SAA is critical to the partnership is the geo-positioning, SAA to the south, us to the east. So you can say we are also going to look for a west African partner.” SAA CE John Lamola reiterates that the plan for the pan-African airline project is to create a holding group structure similar to IAG’s with individual airline brands being retained. “Kenya Airways and us are spearheading it and we have other African airlines that are lining up to join us,” he says. “However, we are not waiting for that. We are doing traditional airline alliance activities where we have a situation where we are partners of choice.” <br/>

Turkish Airlines has signed a number of codesharing agreements with other airlines while in attendance at the International Air Transport Association AGM and World Air Transport Summit. The summit was in the airline’s home city of Istanbul, was attended by CEOs and representatives from around 300 global airlines and saw discussions take place on the industry’s biggest topics such as sustainability and pandemic recovery. Chief marketing officer Ahmet Olmuştur gave a speech at the event where he spoke about the airline’s persistence through recent crises, including the large earthquake in Turkey and Syria earlier this year: “We worked diligently as a team to mitigate the adverse effects of the earthquake. As our motto says, we will succeed together in this process as well. “From now on, we will continue to make a difference not only in our country but worldwide with our steps towards sustainability and zero waste.” Alongside highlighting the company’s work, TA also took the opportunity to sign codesharing agreements with some of its partners, including Icelandair and Vietnam Airlines. The Icelandair agreement will see the airline’s passengers from North America and Iceland going eastbound be able to connect through TA’s network to Istanbul, whilst TA passengers will have the opportunity to connect through Icelandair’s network to Iceland and Canada. Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said: “With the new agreement, the two airlines’ networks will be better connected, greatly increasing possible flight connections for our customers.” Similarly, the agreement between TA and Vietnam Airlines will see TA customers able to continue from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, whilst Vietnam Airlines customers will be able to go to those cities from Istanbul. <br/>

Air India said on Thursday that its replacement flight has taken off from Russia's Magadan for San Francisco, carrying all passengers and crew. The flight is expected to arrive at San Francisco at 12:15 a.m. PDT (0715 GMT) on Thursday, the airline said in a tweet. Air India has mobilised additional support at San Francisco airport to carry out clearance formalities for passengers upon arrival, the tweet added. Air India sent an aircraft to Russia on Wednesday to pick up passengers whose Delhi-to-San Francisco flight was diverted to Russia's Far East after their Boeing 777 plane developed engine trouble. More than 216 passengers and 16 crew on board the stranded airline were housed in makeshift accommodation, given infrastructure limitations at the remote Magadan airport, the airline said.<br/>

The diversion of a US-built Air India jetliner to Russia with engine problems has thrust industry tensions surrounding Russian airspace into the spotlight - just a day after the head of a major American carrier predicted an almost identical scenario. A global industry meeting ended on Tuesday with carriers at odds over the use of Russia as a pivotal crossing point in the global air transport network, with United Airlines (UAL.O) citing trade concerns but India's flag carrier defending it. A Russian ban on some foreign carriers using its airspace, in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, has redrawn air routes and upset business models for some airlines that now need to fly around the world's largest country. The potential impact is far-reaching because one flight between Europe and Asia generates three throughout the network as passengers take connecting flights, according to Brussels-based air traffic control body Eurocontrol. While US, European and Japanese carriers have stopped flying over Russia, Air India and some Gulf-based and Chinese airlines continue to do so, making flying times shorter and giving them a cost edge over competitors. "At Air India, we operate according to the ambit of what is provided to us by the nation of India and not all nations agree," CEO Campbell Wilson said at the IATA annual meeting this week. "So there are going to be different outcomes as a consequence," Wilson told the conference in Istanbul.<br/>

Air New Zealand on Thursday upgraded its full-year forecast for earnings before other significant items and taxation for the second time on the back of strong demand and lower jet fuel prices. The airline now expects earnings before other significant items and taxation for fiscal 2023 to be no less than NZ$580m ($350m), compared with its prior forecast range of NZ$510m to NZ$560m. The national carrier has experienced stronger demand following the reopening of domestic and international borders. This has also helped the airline swing to a first-half profit for the first time in three years. The sector, which grinded to a near halt due to COVID-19 shutting borders globally, has bounced back with airlines posting strong results in recent months. The airline assumed average jet fuel price for June of $89 per barrel, the company said. It assumed $105/barrel in February. However, the airline flagged an uncertain economic environment that it could face going forward into 2024, while expecting fares to moderate from current peaks.<br/>