VIRGIN ATLANTIC LAUNCHES CORPORATE SAF PROGRAMME
- Virgin Atlantic is launching a corporate SAF programme complementing partners Delta, Air France and KLM
- The move is with corporate customers in mind, allowing them to better understand their emissions
- The programme is available to corporate customers of any size or location
Virgin Atlantic is joining its expanded joint venture partners, Delta, Air France and KLM by offering a sustainable aviation fuel programme (SAF) for its corporate customers, which assists them in managing their emissions. The move represents a first for any airline joint venture and underpins a continued focus on sustainability across the four airlines.
The scheme has been specifically designed with the airline’s corporate customers in mind and allows them to improve their insight into their emissions through a robust CO2 methodology, helping them understand the true impact of their flying. Customers will have the opportunity to use the information to contribute to their CO2 emissions report and enable the industry to build momentum towards SAF contributions and scale up production across the UK, Europe and the US. The programme is available to corporate customers or any size of location, across all four partner airlines.
Virgin Atlantic’s partners have already established corporate SAF programmes, with Delta, Air France and KLM already securing significant SAF funding from supportive customers throughout the USA and Europe. Virgin Atlantic’s enrolment in the wider scheme will provide the airline with the ability to offer SAF within the UK from its Heathrow hub.
In February, Virgin Atlantic announced its first UK SAF supply, with the arrival of 2.5 million litres of Neste Oyi neat SAF into London Heathrow. The supply is an important step towards the airline’s target of 10% SAF by 2030.
Tom Maynard, Head of UK and Europe Sales at Virgin Atlantic, said,
“I’m proud that Virgin Atlantic, along with our partners, Delta, Air France and KLM are the first joint venture to offer a corporate sustainable aviation fuel programme, which underpins the importance of sustainability for all four airlines. We know we are not the only industry with ambitious targets and that’s why our scheme has been designed with our corporate customers at its core. Our goal is to assist them in meeting their sustainability targets by enabling them to easily understand their emissions and support future SAF contributions.
“We already have one of the youngest and most fuel efficient fleets in the sky, but after this, SAF represents the greatest opportunity for Virgin Atlantic to decarbonise in the short to medium term, but we still require cross industry and Government action to support commercialisation of SAF at scale, particularly in the UK. Our fuel programme will help us as we continue to work closely with our sustainability partners, as well as our joint venture colleagues, to find innovative solutions to achieve this goal.”