DALLAS — Alaska Airlines (AS) has signed an agreement with Shell Aviation to expand the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

With this decision, AS is one step further to its goal: net zero emissions by 2040. Although IATA plans to reach this by 2050, the carrier wants to achieve it earlier by 10 years, according to the airline's press release.

SAF is the newest aviation fuel technology that meets the Jet-A1 standards but significantly reduces CO2 emissions by 80%. 

As per the agreement, Shell will provide ten million gallons of neat SAF to AS to its LAX base.

Comments from Alaska Airlines, Shell Officials

Diana Birkett Rakow, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Sustainability, Alaska Airlines, said, "Alaska Airlines has set our course to net zero by 2040 and sustainable aviation fuels represent the greatest near-term opportunity to make a step-level change on that journey, that’s why we’ve pioneered SAF technologies for more than a decade. But we can’t scale the market alone."

Rakow added, "We’re excited to take this next step in the journey with Shell, to leverage their deep knowledge of the energy industry, its infrastructure requirements, and supply chain to make lower lifecycle carbon SAF more widely available in the future."

We’re excited to expand our strong relationship with Alaska and amplify our efforts to help decarbonize aviation through SAF supply on the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, we need support from the entire ecosystem to build a sustainable future for aviation. This deep level of collaboration will help us put the technologies and supply chain in place to advance the industry, said Jan Toschka, President, Shell Aviation.

AS has a fleet of 293 aircraft, including ten of the industry-leading Airbus A321neo, 14 Boeing 737-700s, 61 737-800s, 12 Boeing 737-900s, 79 Boeing 737-900ERs, 42 Boeing 737-9s, 75 Embraer ERJ-175s. They have six Boeing 737-9s on order and 13 airframes are stored.

Featured image: Brandon Farris/Airways