A global push to decarbonize air travel has groups from Big Oil to sovereign wealth funds betting on Brazil to become a top global center for green jet fuel. Brazil is becoming a magnet for investment as countries race to grab a share of what promises to be a fast-growing market, with Shell Plc and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. considering new sustainable aviation fuel plants in the country. That’s in part because Latin America’s biggest economy is the world’s second-largest producer of ethanol, which can be used to produce SAF. Agriculture powerhouse Brazil has an abundance of cheap crops to make biofuels, providing the nation a leg up on competitors including the US. Many of Brazil’s supplies also rank better in terms of carbon emissions, key to meeting requirements for SAF production. “Brazil is in a very privileged position to be the world’s SAF hub,” said Bruno Serapião, CEO of sugar cane group Atvos Agroindustrial SA. The Mubadala-backed company is currently considering investing in an SAF unit that will use the alcohol-to-jet technology, converting ethanol into aviation fuel. <br/>
general
Schiphol Group NV said it will hike the fees it charges airlines over the next two years as it seeks to improve infrastructure and penalize carriers for noisy planes. The owner of Amsterdam’s airport said it will raise airport charges by 41% next year, according to a statement on Thursday. The operator aims to increase the fee by an average of E15 ($16.3) per departing passenger in 2027 compared to this year. “The increase in charges is driven by exceptionally high inflation and sharply increased interest rates over the past three years,” the airport operator said in a statement. It also includes compensation for the losses made during the pandemic years. Schiphol has kicked off a plan to spend E6 toward upgrading the hub’s infrastructure over the next five years as it said passenger satisfaction was not at desired levels. It has also been advocating for measures to reduce noise. The new charges will make it “significantly more expensive or even impossible to fly with noisier aircraft and to fly at night,” Schiphol Group CFO Robert Carsouw said. Dutch carrier KLM slammed the move on Thursday, arguing it would make Schiphol the second-most expensive airport in Europe.<br/>
Private jet passengers in the UK will face a 50% tax increase, the government announced in the autumn Budget. The rise means that those who choose to travel this way will start paying high air passenger duty (APD) rates from 2026. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday 30 October that the government will introduce an adjustment to air passenger duty, meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight. But the fees that fall upon those travelling in private jets will increase by 50%. The private jets that qualify for this higher rate weigh over 20 tonnes and can only carry fewer than 19 passengers. However, now the budget has been announced, the government is seeking consultation on how to extend the scope of the higher rate to more private jets. It also hopes that the reform of the higher rate aligns with their net-zero objectives, such as the private jet industry investing in low-carbon technologies. The most expensive rate for private jet flyers will increase from GBP607 to GBP673 in 2025, reaching GBP1,141 per passenger by April 2026. The government says evidence shows that the typical owners of these jets are usually businesses, or people with “considerable wealth”.<br/>
More than 20 Taiwan-bound flights have been forced to divert to Hong Kong as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-rey battered the island with fierce winds. Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said that 24 flights destined for Taiwan had been diverted to the city as of 10.30pm on Thursday. The powerful typhoon, which made landfall in Taitung county at 1.40pm on the same day, drove winds of up to 83 knots around Taoyuan International Airport – the highest ever recorded at the facility. The storm had caused 1,429 reported incidents as of 8pm, including one fatality and 73 injuries across Taiwan, according to local media. The extreme weather also disrupted air traffic at Taoyuan Airport, with 138 incoming and 129 outbound flights cancelled due to the storm. At least 28 flights destined for the airport were diverted to nearby ones in Hong Kong, Jeju, Okinawa, Singapore, Kaohsiung and Songshan.<br/>
Boeing’s largest union said on Thursday that it would hold a vote on a new contract offer, after workers rejected two earlier proposals. The union’s 33,000 members have been on strike since Sept. 13, dealing a damaging blow to the struggling aerospace manufacturer. The offer was negotiated by company and union leaders, with help from Biden administration officials, including the acting labor secretary, Julie Su. In a statement, the union encouraged workers to accept the offer in voting scheduled for Monday. “It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory,” said a statement from the leaders of two chapters of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who represent the workers on strike. “We believe asking members to stay on strike longer wouldn’t be right as we have achieved so much success.” If workers do not take the deal, they “risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future,” the union leaders warned. District 751 of the union represents the vast majority of the workers, while another chapter, District W24, represents the rest. The workers mostly support the company’s commercial airplane division in the Seattle area, where Boeing builds most such jets. They walked off the job after 95% of those voting rejected a contract that union and company leaders had negotiated. The workers rejected a second offer with better terms last week, with 64% voting against the proposal. The union has not said how many people participated in either vote. The new contract offer represents a slight improvement over the recently rejected proposal. It would raise wages cumulatively by more than 43% over the four years of the contract, up from nearly 40% in the last offer, according to details shared by the union. The deal also includes a $12,000 bonus for agreeing to the contract, which can be diverted in any amount to employee retirement plans. That figure combines a $7,000 ratification bonus and a $5,000 one-time retirement contribution in the previous offer.<br/>
Boeing has dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department, Bloomberg news reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report said the staff from Boeing's DEI office would be combined with another human resources team focused on talent and employee experience. Sara Liang Bowen, who was a vice president in the department, announced earlier in the day on LinkedIn that she had left the company. "It has been the privilege of my lifetime to lead Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Boeing company these past 5+ years. Our team strived every day to support the evolving brilliance and creativity of our workforce," she said in the post. On Tuesday, Boeing launched a stock offering that could raise up to $24.3b as the planemaker looks to strengthen its finances, pressured by a more than six-week strike by factory workers. Earlier this month, the company also said that it planned to cut 17,000 jobs, which represent 10% of its global workforce.<br/>
Chinese firm with its headquarters in Beijing announced that it has tested the prototype of a commercial transport plane that can travel at almost double the speed of the world’s first supersonic passenger-carrying airplane – the Concorde. Space Transportation, which is known as Lingkong Tianxing Technology, in China has announced the successful test flight of its Yunxing prototype plane. According to the company’s claims, the plane can fly at speeds of Mach 4 or roughly 3069 miles per hour. The company is planning to conduct a follow-up test of its engine in the coming month, according to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP). It also plans to have a full-sized supersonic jet ready to take its first flight in the year 2027. The Concorde had broken all records for supersonic passenger travel when it debuted. Designed and built by Sud Aviation – which later became a part of Aerospatiale (now Airbus) of France and the British Aircraft Corporation, it is still talked about as one of the masterpieces of aviation technology.<br/>
Electric aerospace company Beta Technologies said on Thursday it had raised more than $300m in equity capital to support the continued production of its all-electric fixed-wing and eVTOL aircraft that can takeoff and land vertically. The investment was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and saw the participation of other investors including Fidelity and TPG. Beta's longtime customer United Therapeutics also joined as an investor. The funding could accelerate Beta's progress in the air transport industry as it works to lower carbon emissions. In an effort to reduce its climate impact, the global aviation industry is focusing on the advancement of sustainable aviation fuel and next-generation aircraft powered by electric, hybrid and hydrogen propulsion technologies. Last year, Beta said it was pursuing FAA certification of the CX 300 – a conventional takeoff and landing version of its Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft.<br/>