Photo: Courtesy of Airbus

Airbus said on Tuesday that it has signed agreements with Xiamen Airlines, Zhejiang Loong Airlines and Colorful Guizhou Airlines to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) during commercial flights in China.

The partnership was announced at the 14th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. With the agreements, Airbus and Airbus' Chinese operators are expected to help support China's green aviation strategy.

The SAF for the above mentioned commercial flights is produced locally from used cooking oil by SINOPEC Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co, a state-owned manufacturer in China. The Chinese SAF made by the company is also used for delivery flights from Airbus Tianjin.

Since October 2022, Airbus' Delivery Center in Tianjin has offered customers the option of five-percent SAF fuel blend for all single-aisle A320neos and A350 wide-body aircraft delivery flights.

Airbus said in October that its Tianjin plant delivered an A320neo to China Eastern Airlines using the five-percent SAF as the fuel for the delivery flight.

SAF is a sustainable aviation fuel made from feedstock ranging from used fat, oil and grease to municipal and forestry waste. Compared to fossil jet fuel, SAF has been demonstrated to result in an up to 80% reduction in CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is considered as a key enabler to contribute to the de-carbonization of aviation sector. 

The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Green Development of Civil Aviation issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that it is necessary to implement a low-carbon development strategy, promote breakthroughs in the commercial application of SAF, and strive to achieve a SAF consumption of over 20,000 tons by 2025.

Xiamen Airlines has become the newest Airbus customer in China by placing a firm order for 40 A320neo family aircraft in September. Zhejiang Loong Airlines operates an Airbus passenger aircraft fleet made up of 64 A320 planes.

Colorful Guizhou Airlines has a fleet of eight A320neo planes. All three airlines are committed to sustainable development.

Global Times