U.S. low-cost airline JetBlue has signed a new agreement with energy firm Shell Aviation to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Los Angeles International airport.
Under the deal, Shell will deliver 10 million gallons of blended SAF to JetBlue over the next two years. The agreement also offers the airline an option to purchase up to 5 million gallons more in the third year, either at the Los Angeles airport or other airports in JetBlue’s network.
SAF is a renewable fuel that can be produced from various sources, such as agricultural wastes and used cooking oils. It can lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 80 percent in its neat form when compared to traditional petroleum-based fuels.
According to JetBlue, the partnership with Shell is a significant step for its efforts to reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2040, 10 years earlier than industry targets. It will also support the airline’s plan to cut its per-seat emissions in half by 2035. The additional SAF provided through Shell Aviation at Los Angeles airport will increase the airline’s SAF supply at the airport, bringing SAF to about 15 percent of JetBlue's total Los Angeles International jet fuel uptake.
“We’ve long said we need multiple key stakeholders to step up to reach our aggressive emissions reduction goals,” said Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer of JetBlue. “Shell’s involvement, with their expertise in energy markets and logistics, is a validation of the SAF market’s potential and highlights how critical the SAF transition of our hard-to-decarbonize industry is to establishing a more sustainable future of flight.”
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To accelerate the pace of decarbonizing the aviation sector, Shell is building the supply chain capabilities to blend, handle and distribute SAF, aiming to have 10 percent of its aviation jet fuel sales as SAF by 2030.
JetBlue and Shell will also work together to offer corporate customers additional ways to reduce emissions associated with their flying through Avelia, a blockchain-powered digital SAF book-and-claim solution for business travel. The technology will allow organizations to address their corporate travel emissions with the purchase of JetBlue-issued SAF certificates.
“We envision a future of a robust, regular, and diversified supply of SAF delivered all around our network, incrementally replacing conventional fuels and driving down emissions in our operation,” said, Sara Bogdan, Director of Sustainability and ESG at JetBlue. “Working with Shell will not only help grow the availability of SAF in the long-term, but also ensure this transition is sustainable from a business perspective, by building the connections and infrastructure to help keep the cost of SAF competitive with traditional fuel.”
