Bombardier and Signature Aviation signed a landmark multi-year agreement at NBAA-BACE 2022 on Monday that will see the airframer convert all of its flight activity to sustainable aviation fuel through the Signature Renew book-and-claim system. The deal will cover all of Bombardier’s flight operations starting on Jan. 1, 2023.
The Canadian manufacturer’s aircraft activity covers several areas, including product testing and certification flights conducted in Montreal; shuttle flights for Global family aircraft from Toronto to Montreal for completion; global customer demonstration flights from the OEM’s Hartford, Connecticut-based demonstration team; new aircraft certification flights from Bombardier’s Wichita flight-test center; and active service check flights from all of the company’s service centers worldwide. These activities account for approximately 1,000 flights annually.
“Bombardier’s decision will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fuel use in its flight operations by approximately 25 percent,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive v-p of services, support, and corporate strategy for Bombardier (Static AD_310).
“This is a huge gain,” he said, adding the goal of the agreement was to reduce the company’s net GHG emissions as fast as possible. By opting for the book-and-claim model, where the actual fuel is dispensed near its point of production, Bombardier negates any GHG emissions that would have been incurred through the transport of the actual SAF.
Signature Flight Support (Booth 4495) was the first FBO network to offer permanent supplies of SAF starting in December 2020 at its San Francisco location. Last year at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, the company launched its Signature Renew book-and-claim program, which allows users to purchase SAF and receive environmental credits for its use even though the actual fuel may be dispensed thousands of miles away in an entirely different aircraft whose operator is not entitled to the credits.
“Over the last two years, Signature Aviation has grown its sustainable aviation [fuel] supply points to 17 airports around the world, or just 10 percent of our total network,” said Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre. Today, the company dispenses 8 percent of the global production of SAF through those locations.
“While we work aggressively to expand the availability of sustainable aviation fuel, book-and-claim provides critical coverage to current gaps in the supply while immediately taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere,” said Lefebvre. He added that the investment in carbon reduction through book-and-claim is helping expand the supply of SAF.
In addition, the move is meant to send a clear signal throughout the industry, according to Gallagher. The message is that “there is demand for SAF and we’re among the companies that are willing to go the extra mile to stimulate the market,” he concluded.