Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has partnered with World Energy, a carbon-net-zero solutions provider, to operate the first Net-Zero flight powered entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Book & Claim, delivering delegates to COP27 with zero emissions.
The airline will operate its Washington Dulles to Abu Dhabi service, routed via COP27 venue Sharm-El-Sheik to demonstrate the only feasible path to net-zero commercial aviation using current technology, while showcasing the challenges and opportunities of SAF
Mariam Alqubaisi, Head of Sustainability & Business Excellence, Etihad Airways, said: “This initiative is about proving Net-Zero commercial aviation is possible, but equally facing up to the significant logistical challenges the industry faces to turn the possible into the routine. Etihad endeavors to make good on the rigorous commitment towards sustainable aviation through the Greenliner programme in partnership with Boeing, GE and other aviation leaders in 2020, followed by the addition of the Sustainabile50 programme in partnership with Airbus and Rolls Royce, coupled with our commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and halving our net emission levels by 2035.
Enabling delegates to travel 10,000km emission-free to COP27, Etihad will buy (or book) SAF for the flight provided by fueling partner World Energy. However, the flight will use conventional Jet-A1 fuel, and the physical SAF that Etihad has purchased will be delivered into the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) fuel system and used on flights by other airlines out of that airport. LAX has the infrastructure in place to take delivery of and distribute World Energy’s SAF. This is known as a Book & Claim system and is the preferred model for SAF use and distribution advocated for by the aviation and energy industries as a stopgap solution to make SAF available for global aviation until infrastructure requirements can catch up. Book & Claim includes scrupulously third-party verified transactions that comply with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) guidance.
Guests onboard the flight will not be charged any extra premium for their fare but preparing a Net-Zero flight without charging each passenger and cargo shipment a surcharge is a challenge given that the cost to produce SAF is four-times higher than JetA1.
The extra costs will be mitigated by several sources, including government subsidies reducing the SAF cost by 50 per cent, the Corporate Conscious Choice programme contributing 28 per cent, and the Etihad Guest Raffle providing 22 per cent. A final 10 per cent to partially offset additional operational and handling costs will be generated by tokenizing and trading CO2e avoidance credits, possible due to this being the first transatlantic flight actively managing non-CO2 effects through contrail avoidance prediction and flight planning.
The Net-Zero flight will be the latest in a series of “EcoFlight” tests since Etihad launched its Greenliner programme in 2020, each one testing and proving a series of concepts.