Finnair's first flight centennial, Air Serbia, SAF and more (The Allplane Newsletter #149)
This week I had the privilege to speak at the Future Opportunities for Seaplanes and Amphibious Aviation conference, which took place in the incomparable setting of Venice, Italy! Will be posting my impressions from this major event of the global seaplane industry shortly.
Three recent guests of the podcast were represented, btw, Jekta, Elfly and Regent.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Useful visual summary of the global SAF production landscape as of March 2024.
One year after their introduction, over a million passengers have used Lufthansa Group’s Green Fares. Apparently, take up rate in long haul is 4%, which sounds little, but way more than I would have expected for a voluntary scheme. READ.
Norsk e-Fuel, the SAF startup in which airline Norwegian recently invested, is partnering with carbon capture firm Carbon Centric to secure the supply of 130k tons of CO2 to make SAF.
Air New Zealand has issued a global RFP for SAF suppliers. READ.
Other sustainable aviation news
The UK government has published its updated (As of March 2024) Future of Flight action plan. CHECK IT OUT.
(btw, not everyone is happy with the time-frames proposed!)
KLM lost a legal case in The Netherlands against an environmental organization that accused it of engaging in greenwashing in its advertising.
A SAF-powered brand-new giant aircraft type to transport windmill blades? The Windrunner concept has been all over the place this week. Sounds a bit far-fetched. READ.
Not everything in aviation sustainability is about emissions. Scottish leather supplier to the aviation industry Muirhead is launching a compostable leather that is free of any heavy metals such as chrome and glutaraldehyde. Muirhead is investing in new leather processing technologies to move from 90% to 100% biodegradable leather for aircraft seats and has invested £14 million in a state-of-the-art tannery with the latest environmental technologies. Interesting read.
What else in aviation?
An interview with Air Serbia’s CEO, who confirmed the positive evolution of the airline. READ.
Air Asia is considering new ways to raise fresh funds. READ.
100 years of Finnair’s first flight. READ.
More aircraft order news, from LOT, Korean Air…
First flight of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator: