Air BP has highlighted the “bananas to biofuel” part of its sustainable fuel while the business aviation industry continues to promote the use of more sustainable jet fuel at this week’s NBAA-BACE convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
NBAA-BACE, which is business aviation’s largest event, is hosting around 25,000 visitors and hundreds of aircraft this week in Las Vegas. As part of the show’s week-long focus on sustainability, all turbine airplanes refueling at Henderson Executive Airport (HND) at the Nevada city will take on an amount of SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) before departure. SAF is said to reduce aviation’s carbon lifecycle emissions by up to 80%.
After the show’s close on Thursday, October 24, the organizers estimate around 150,000 gallons of SAF will have been pumped at HND.
Air BP said it is making SAF available to general and business aviation customers flying from Europe at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Air BP’s SAF is made by Neste from non-palm renewable and sustainable resources, including recycled packaging, paper textiles and food scraps from businesses and homes.
Irene Lores, global sales and marketing director of general aviation at Air BP said, “There are different feedstocks that can go into SAF, but for us it’s about choosing the ones that have the most positive sustainable impact and are certified for their sustainability.”
Lores added that she believed the campaign to raise awareness about the environmental benefits of SAF was succeeding. She said, “The message is getting across, everyone is talking about SAF more and the OEMs are playing their part in the coalition to promote it.
“We believe it is important to keep working with multiple suppliers, customers and partners to support the commercialization of SAF. It’s also important to highlight that there is no difference with SAF for an airport – there’s no cost associated to training or modifying facilities to deliver it.
“The cost to the customer is higher right now, but that will come down as the industry invests more in production facilities.”
Meanwhile, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and General Aviation Manufacturers Association have also announced at the NBAA-BACE show the first “Business Aviation Global Sustainability Summit” is to be held next March in Washington DC. The summit will aim to accelerate the availability and use of SAF.
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said, “Business aviation has long made sustainability a priority, and we have made tangible progress. Over the past decade, we have redoubled our commitment to reducing the industry’s already-small carbon footprint, and key to that has been the development and use of sustainable fuels. This summit marks the next step in focusing on how to accelerate the fuels’ adoption and use.”
