Air New Zealand and Neste Ink Deal for Nine Million Litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Air New Zealand has signed an agreement with Neste for nine million litres of neat Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™.  This is the largest SAF purchase from Neste by any airline outside of North America or Europe for delivery before year-end 2024.

Foreground: Air New Zealand Airbus A350XWB Winglet, Background: Air New Zealand Airbus A320 - Courtesy Airbus

On Monday (April 15, 2024), Air New Zealand announced the signing of an agreement for the purchase of nine million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Neste.  The Neste neat My Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ will be produced at Neste’s Singapore refinery and then blended with conventional jet fuel and supplied to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) between April 1st through November 30, 2024.  The deal represents the largest-ever purchase of SAF from Neste by any airline outside of North America or Europe for delivery before the end of 2024.  On a lifecycle basis, SAF can deliver a carbon emissions reduction of up to 80 percent compared to conventional fossil-based jet fuel.

Speaking in Singapore on Monday, Air New Zealand’s Chair, Dame Therese Walsh, said,

“Decarbonising Air New Zealand’s operations is essential for the airline's long-term ability to connect New Zealanders to the world, as well as support the country’s trade and tourism sectors, and SAF is a key enabler of this.  Sustainable aviation fuel is currently the only solution to significantly reduce emissions from long haul flight, but it currently makes up less than 1% of the global fuel supply.  For aviation to reach its net zero carbon emissions goals by 2050, the SAF industry will need to scale significantly.

“While the SAF supply is small compared with the airline's overall fuel use, it is nine times the size of Air New Zealand's first shipment of SAF from Neste in 2022 and demonstrates growing cooperation between two like-minded organisations to advance the supply and use of SAF.” 

Also commenting on the SAF purchase agreement, Neste’s Vice President of Renewable Aviation, Alexander Kueper, said,

“We are proud to support Air New Zealand's decarbonisation focus and are looking forward to continuing working together with Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Government to reach their climate goals.”

Air New Zealand’s total fuel uptake from April 1st through November 30, 2024 is expected to be approximately 850 million litres.

Source: Air New Zealand