Signature Aviation at Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX) has switched its jet fuel supply over to entirely sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The KLAX facility joins its sister in San Francisco in converting fully to a 30% blend of Neste-supplied SAF, which lowers lifecycle carbon emissions by 24% versus conventional jet-A.
SAF blends are currently limited to a maximum of 50% but several OEMs have demonstrated that their aircraft will safely operate with 100% SAF. Unblended SAF can provide lifecycle emissions reductions of up to 80% over jet-A.
According to Signature—operator of the world’s largest FBO network—there will be no impact for those Los Angeles customers who do not want to pay SAF pricing since the jet-A price and differential in those instances will be built into the company’s book-and-claim credits. Under the book-and-claim process, customers may decide to purchase SAF credits at any of the more than 200 Signature locations globally and pay the price delta. While they receive environmental sustainability credit, the green fuel will be dispensed into an entirely unrelated aircraft at a location such as Los Angeles where SAF is physically present.
However, if a customer purchases only jet-A, they are not eligible or able to claim the carbon attribute/benefit.
The chain was one of the first supporters of SAF and its sustainability benefits and has grown into a major SAF distributor for general aviation, having recently passed the 30-million-gallon mark in terms of total SAF delivered.
“This is a transformative time for Signature, and our partnership with Neste is helping us take another significant step towards net zero [carbon emissions] by providing a 100% supply of blended SAF at our Los Angeles location,” said chief commercial officer Derek DeCross. “This collaboration exemplifies how we’re working together with both our guests and our partners to accelerate the adoption of environmentally friendly practices and paving the way for a more sustainable future in aviation.”