But the promising performance is overshadowed by a troubling reality for the industry: The shift to SAF is still minuscule, while growth in passenger air travel is drowning out any climate gains so far. For example, despite IAG’s world-leading status, cleaner fuel accounted for only about 1.9% of its overall fuel consumption last year, and its emissions from fuel combustion still rose by 5%.
British Airways’ parent company IAG SA surged ahead of other passenger airlines last year to consume the most sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, according to a Bloomberg Green review of corporate filings from dozens of air carriers.
The company acquired 55 million gallons of cleaner jet fuel, which is derived from lower-emitting sources such as used cooking oil and animal tallow. That number exceeded the amount used by all US passenger airlines combined.
