Asia-Pacific airlines, including SIA, aim for cleaner jet fuel to form 5% of consumption by 2030

For the first time, the leaders of the 14 airlines that form the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), including Singapore Airlines, have pledged to strive towards a target of 5% sustainable aviation fuel use by 2030. This is a collective, “aspirational” target, said AAPA director-general Subhas Menon on Friday at a meeting of the association’s senior airline executives, held at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore. This means that some airlines in the association may end up using a higher mix of sustainable jet fuel than others. Cathay Pacific, an AAPA member, has set its own target for sustainable jet fuel to make up 10% of its fuel consumption by 2030. SIA CE Goh Choon Phong was coy about the flag carrier’s plans for using greener fuel. The carrier and its budget arm Scoot recently conducted a 20-month trial, which they said has shown that Singapore is operationally ready to make the switch. “In order to meet whatever percentage of (sustainable fuel) the association has committed to, you will need the supply to be there,” Goh said. “We would like to see how supply can be encouraged, but we are not making any decision on how we are going to facilitate that. I think it’s premature.” Currently, the supply of sustainable aviation fuel globally is less than 1% of prevailing demand. Menon said the reason the AAPA is setting this 5% target is to “wake the oil majors from their slumber”. “They are telling us that if they do not have an indication of demand, (they) can’t start producing sustainable aviation fuel. So... we are putting it out there,” he added. The AAPA’s target is similar to what others have set. Europe, for instance, has set a target for fuel suppliers to ensure that 6% of jet fuel made available at European airports is sustainable, with this rising gradually to 70% by 2050. Japan aims to have airlines replace 10% of the fuel they use at Japanese airports with eco-friendly alternatives by 2030.<br/>