Airbus starts Hamburg deliveries with sustainable aviation fuel

Airbus starts Hamburg deliveries with sustainable aviation fuel
Airbus starts Hamburg deliveries with sustainable aviation fuel
Avatar of Harry Johnson
Written by Harry Johnson

Airbus is expanding its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) operations, now including aircraft deliveries from its site in Hamburg, Germany. Air Transat took delivery of two brand new A321LR on lease from AerCap. Both used a 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel blend to fly the aircraft from Hamburg to Montreal, Canada, non-stop.

Airbus has already successfully established SAF flights out of Hamburg with its Beluga transport aircraft since December 2019. Todayโ€™s commercial delivery is another milestone that underlines Airbusโ€™ continuing commitment to minimizing air transportationโ€™s environmental impact โ€“ which includes becoming the first aircraft manufacturer offering customers the option of receiving new jetliners with sustainable fuel in their tanks. Such delivery flights have been available since 2016, starting from the Airbus headquarters production facility in Toulouse, France, followed by Mobile, Alabama, USA.

Airbus offers this option as part of its strategy to promote the more regular use of sustainable fuels within the aviation industry. The fuel for Air Transatโ€™s A321LR aircraft delivered from Hamburg was supplied by Air bp and produced by Neste.

Airbus and Air Transat have a long history of cooperation on environmental affairs. Airbus supported the airline to launch its environmental programme 13 years ago and both have worked together on environmental projects such as fuel efficiency. Air Transat has been operating Airbus single-aisle and widebody aircraft since 1999.

“Sustainability and efficiency are essential for our customers and for Airbus. Sustainable aviation fuel developments will play a key role in reducing the environmental footprint of the aviation industry. By using sustainable aviation fuels on delivery flights with partners like AerCap and Air Transat, who are flying the aircraft from Hamburg to their Canadian homebase nonstop, we take concrete action to contribute to a more sustainable aviation future,โ€ said Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer Airbus.

โ€œWe are very pleased to be a part of this historic milestone, working together with our partners at Airbus and with our long-time customer, Air Transat, to help them meet their sustainable growth ambitions,โ€ said Philip Scruggs, President and Chief Commercial Officer of AerCap. โ€œAerCap is committed to facilitating the move towards more sustainable air travel underpinned by its target to transition its fleet to approximately two-thirds new technology aircraft by 2021.โ€

โ€œIt is an honor for us and a sign of confidence from Airbus to be its first customer to take advantage of this new delivery option at its Hamburg plant,โ€ said Jean-Franรงois Lemay, President and General Manager, Air Transat. โ€œThis initiative is part of our commitment to reducing our own carbon footprint while contributing to the achievement of the airline industryโ€™s ambitious decarbonization targets.โ€

Both today and tomorrowโ€™s delivery flights will be carbon-neutral because the kerosene fossil

fuel portion will be offset by the purchase of carbon credits.

โ€œWe are proud to be the first Canadian carrier to operate carbon-neutral flights, and we will continue to pursue our commitment to providing our passengers with a travel experience that takes account of our environmental footprint,โ€ Mr. Lemay continued.

#rebuildingtravel

About the author

Avatar of Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson has been the assignment editor for eTurboNews for mroe than 20 years. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is originally from Europe. He enjoys writing and covering the news.

Share to...