Virgin Atlantic has signed a deal to buy 70 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to power its flights from California.
The UK long-haul carrier said it would be buying 10 million gallons of SAF annually for seven years through a deal with its joint venture partner Delta.
Virgin has committed to using at least 10 per cent SAF for its flights by 2030 as part of its decarbonisation efforts. The deal with Delta will account for 20 per cent of this target and is equivalent to fuelling more than 500 transatlantic flights from Los Angeles to the UK.
This latest move will see sustainable fuel produced by US manufacturer Gevo being delivered to Los Angeles or San Francisco airports.
Holly Boyd Boland, VP of corporate development at Virgin Atlantic, said: “We know that SAF has a fundamental role to play in aviation decarbonisation. The demand from airlines is clear and Virgin Atlantic is committed to supporting the scale up of SAF production at pace. We cannot meet our collective ambition of net zero 2050 without it.
“We’re proud that our fleet leads the way on fuel and carbon efficiency, but we know that more needs to be done. We’re excited to be partnering with Delta to further reduce our carbon emissions on flights across the transatlantic.”
Last month, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO Shai Weiss warned that the UK was in danger of “falling behind” in the production of SAF without more government support for the development of domestic plants.
The airline has also recently launched a corporate SAF programme allowing clients to contribute towards the cost of the fuel.