Members of the oneworld® alliance have announced a plan to purchase up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year from Colorado-based renewable fuels producer Gevo.

In a statement, the alliance said delivery of the fuel is expected to commence in 2027, for a five year-term. 

oneworld members Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines, and Qatar Airways expect to utilize the sustainable aviation fuel for operations in California including San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles International Airports.

In a statement, oneworld said sustainable aviation fuel is a core pillar in its plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

In October 2021, the alliance committed to a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel use across the alliance by 2030. 

oneworld noted that its members are partnering to collectively source sustainable aviation fuel, through the alliance's Environment and Sustainability Board chaired by IAG Head of Sustainability Jonathon Counsell with representation from all member airlines.

In November 2021, oneworld announced a joint commitment to purchase more than 350 million gallons of blended SAF from Aemetis for operations at San Francisco – making oneworld the first global airline alliance to jointly commit to purchasing sustainable aviation fuel.

oneworld said Gevo's SAF is expected to be produced using inedible corn products that will be processed to create ethanol that will then be converted into sustainable aviation fuel.

"Sustainable aviation fuel, which produces significantly lower carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel, is an important part of the aviation sector's path to decarbonization, in particular on longer-haul flights," oneworld said. "No changes to current aircraft or airport infrastructure are required for operators to utilize sustainable aviation fuel – making it a feasible and immediate solution to reduce carbon emissions."

SAF production scale-up needed

The organization noted, however, that SAF is not yet available at scale – underlining the importance of joint commitments like that of oneworld member airlines.

"As the aviation industry continues to face new challenges, today's announcement underlines the positive outcome of the multilateral collaboration between industry stakeholders. It reaffirms the leadership of our alliance in supporting the ambitious aviation decarbonization targets, as well as our active role in driving the use of ICAO, recognized SAF at a commercial scale," said  Akbar Al Baker, oneworld chairman, and Qatar Airways Group CEO.

oneworld CEO Rob Gurney, for his part, recapped how the alliance committed to a target of 10% SAF by 2030 just five months ago.

"Today's announcement of a second major sustainable aviation fuel offtake among member airlines builds further upon that commitment while demonstrating the value that can be delivered when our member airlines work together," Gurney said.

Dr. Patrick R. Gruber, Gevo's CEO noted how oneworld member airlines are starting to make "real change in the industry."