European Airline Group's SAF Share of 3.3% Exceeds Total of All US Airlines Combined

en.Wedoany.com Reported - European airline groups are clearly ahead of their US counterparts in the uptake of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). International Airlines Group (IAG) currently meets 3.3% of its group-wide kerosene demand through SAF, a share that exceeds the combined SAF usage of all US airlines.

Statistics show that Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have SAF shares of 2.9% and 1.5%, respectively. In comparison, among major US airlines, Alaska Airlines has the highest SAF blending share at just 1.0%, while American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines range between 0.3% and 0.7%. Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has a SAF blending share of only 0.3%.

This gap stems from differences in regulatory policies. Since January 2025, the European Union has implemented binding SAF quotas, which will gradually rise from 2.0% to 70.0% by 2050. A sub-quota for synthetic PtL aviation fuel (i.e., "e-SAF") will take effect in 2030, increasing from 1.2% to 35% by 2050. The United States and the United Arab Emirates have no such mandates.

SAF is currently limited in supply and expensive. Lufthansa stated that PtL fuel has so far only been available at laboratory scale, costing up to ten times more than conventional kerosene and lacking competitiveness. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that global SAF production in 2026 will reach 2.4 million tonnes, covering only 0.8% of global kerosene demand at a cost of $4.3 billion.

IATA is pessimistic about Europe's e-SAF targets. In June 2026, the association noted that the EU and the UK have mandated the production of approximately 600,000 tonnes of e-SAF by 2030, while current global operational and under-construction capacity stands at only about 20,000 tonnes, with just one production plant in operation. IATA believes that the UK and EU 2030 e-SAF targets are not only completely unrealistic but also "simply detached from reality."