AIN writer

Julie Boatman

While sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) remains the critical bridge, particularly for turbine-powered business aviation in the near- and mid-term, general aviation industry officials attending Aero Friedrichshafen last week in Germany see roadblocks to getting there.
Kyle Martin, v-p of European affairs for GAMA, called attention to recent legislation passed that draws the problem to a head in terms of the availability of SAF.&nbsp;“We face some challenges getting access to that fuel,” he said. “Europe has passed the Refuel EU Aviation Regulation, which mandates SAF at large airports. That’s all fine for the airlines. But roughly 2,000 airfields are used daily by business aviation.”
Airlines have commanded the bulk of the fuel available on the continent to reach their milestones of SAF implementation, squeezing supply for charter and private aircraft operators.
With the centralized sourcing and uptake in volume, prices could foreseeably come down closer to U.S. levels from the current going rates for SAF in Europe—between 300% and 600% higher than jet-A, according to operators at Aero Friedrichshafen.
To ease the strain on the system, the European Commission could adopt a book-and-claim model similar to that used in the U.S. But the political will to make this happen is failing to materialize. According to GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce, “We cannot convince the commission that this is the smartest way to go.”

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