Airline, Technology, Organisations & Operators,

United have announced that Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mizuho Leasing Company), Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies are now among the 22 corporate partners that make up the airline’s The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight FundSM, a first-of-its kind effort to reduce emissions and drive production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through investments in startups.
These corporate partners make up all parts of the aviation supply chain – airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel producers, engineering and technology experts, financiers, travel management and more – and have now committed more than $200 million while collaborating to provide strategic expertise to help the Fund’s portfolio companies reach commercialization.
Since its inception in February 2023, the Fund remains aviation’s first and only venture fund backed by a broad limited partner base and created to identify and support startups advancing feedstock and technology development focused on increasing the supply of SAF.
The airline has included a way for everyday consumers to participate as well. Anyone using United.com or the United app has an option to contribute to supplement United’s investment in the UAV Sustainable Flight FundSM before check-out. Users have the choice to contribute $1, $3.50 or $7.00.1 Continuing in the effort toward climate transparency for our customers, United also now shows an estimated carbon emissions for flights booked through United.com or the United app. In less than 12 months, more than 115,000 people have contributed nearly $500,000 since February 2023.
SAF is an alternative to conventional jet fuel that, on a lifecycle basis, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with air travel compared to conventional jet fuel alone. To date, United has invested in the future production of over five billion gallons of SAF – the most of any airline in the world.2ADVERTISEMENT“SAF is the best tool we have to decarbonize airplanes, but we don’t have enough of it. To create the fuel supply we need for our fleet, United recognized that we would have to help build a brand-new industry from scratch – like wind and solar in previous decades,” said Andrew Chang, Managing Director of United Airlines Ventures. “As part of our effort to build a new sustainable aviation ecosystem, we recruited a group of partners with the industry expertise to support our startups with both financial and strategic capital, to help them navigate the entire process from conception to commercialization.”
Sustainable Flight Fund Milestones
Added 22 corporate partnersRaised more than $200 million in committed capitalPortfolio company milestones:Cemvita opens pilot plant in HoustonOXCCU to start construction on pilot plant in UKSvante and Dimensional Energy begin utilization of CO2 captured at Lafarge Canada Cement PlantEH2 opens first manufacturing plantUAV Sustainable Flight Fund
The UAV Sustainable Flight FundSM is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to leverage support from cross-industry businesses in order to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel through SAF research, technology and production. The fund is comprised of more than $200 million in investment commitments from United and corporate partners including: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mizuho Leasing Company), American Express Global Business Travel, Aviation Capital Group, Boeing, Boston Consulting Group, Embraer, GE Aerospace, Google, Groupe ADP, Hawaiian Airlines, HIS, Honeywell, JetBlue Ventures, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies, among others. For more information about the fund, please visit the United Airlines Ventures website.
Consumer Awareness and Call to Action
The default option for customer contributions is set at $3.50 to illustrate the potential impact of customer action at scale: if the 152 million people who flew on United in 2022 each contributed just $3.50 to the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, that would be enough to design and build a SAF refinery capable of producing as much as 40 million gallons of alternative fuel annually.3
United’s Commitment to Net Zero Emissions by 2050
United aims to be net zero by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets. In addition to the UAV Sustainable Flight FundSM, United has launched a SAF purchasing program called the Eco-Skies Alliance and established a venture fund – United Airlines Ventures – to identify and invest in companies and technologies that can help decarbonize air travel. These strategic investments include carbon capture, hydrogen-electric engines, electric regional aircraft and air taxis. In May 2023, United received validation of our 2035 near-term emissions reduction target from the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to reduce our carbon intensity 50% from a 2019 base year. In 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to show customers an estimate of each flight’s carbon footprint in their search. This year, United was the only domestic airline to receive an ‘A-” leadership band score for Climate Change 2023 from CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project.

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Sabre Corporation and Hawaiian Airlines have signed a multi-year distribution agreement that will provide Sabre-connected agencies with long-term access to the carrier’s HA Connect™ NDC and traditional EDIFACT content through the Sabre travel marketplace.
Hawaiian Airlines and Sabre will be working closely together on the integration of HA Connect™ NDC content in the Sabre GDS, which is expected to be available by the end of 2024. Once live, it will enable hundreds of thousands of Sabre-connected agencies and travel buyers to have even richer access to the carrier’s broad range of products and offers, as travel agents will be able to shop, book, and manage Hawaiian Airlines’ NDC and EDIFACT offers through Sabre’s Offer and Order APIs, the point-of-sale tool, Sabre Red 360, and the corporate booking solution, GetThere.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Sabre to expand our long-standing distribution partnership to not only EDIFACT but also HA Connect™ content once the technical connectivity has been implemented,” said Brent Overbeek, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Hawaiian Airlines. “Hawaiian Airlines is continuously expanding the distribution options and content available to the travel agency community, and NDC is one of the key enablers of that. This agreement will enable Sabre’s travel agents across the globe to access our rich HA Connect™ NDC content.”
Sabre powers a constantly expanding marketplace of travel content. Through its network of agencies and corporations worldwide, Sabre enables airlines to market their fares and offers in a highly efficient way.
“We are happy to support Hawaiian Airlines in their NDC journey and help them unlock new revenue streams while adding even more value for the traveler,” said Roshan Mendis, Chief Commercial Officer, Sabre Travel Solutions. “This agreement is another proof point of our commitment to powering travel retailing, while meeting the unique needs of our airline customers and our travel buyer partners.”ADVERTISEMENTThis new agreement also provides closure to the litigation between both companies.

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Project Speedbird – a partnership between Nova Pangaea Technologies, LanzaJet and British Airways – has secured a total of £9 million from the Government’s Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) competition
NPT, a Teesside-based cleantech company developing advanced biofuels used to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), was awarded £7.5 million as part of the partnership, and LanzaJet, the world’s leading ethanol to SAF technology company and sustainable fuels producer, will receive £1.5 million. It is hoped that the funding will help establish the UK as a world-leader in SAF production and the decarbonisation of aviation.
It follows the multi-million-pound investments from International Airlines Group (IAG) and British Airways earlier this year into NPT and Project Speedbird, respectively. IAG – British Airways’ parent company – is also a founding investor and shareholder of LanzaJet dating back to 2021.
Technological innovation
The SAF will be developed using a combination of NPT’s innovative technology, which converts agricultural waste and wood residue feedstocks into second-generation biofuels such as ethanol, and LanzaJet’s proprietary technology that converts ethanol into SAF. The NPT ethanol will be initially processed into SAF using LanzaJet’s Alcohol to Jet (ATJ) plant in Georgia, USA – the first of its kind in the world – prior to Project Speedbird’s own larger ATJ facility, planned to be built in the UK by 2027. British Airways is intending to purchase all the SAF produced through Project Speedbird to help power some of its flights.ADVERTISEMENTProject Speedbird will produce 102 million litres of SAF per year, which will reduce CO2 emissions, on a net lifecycle basis, by 230,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of approximately 26,000 British Airways domestic flights.*
Project Speedbird will produce SAF at full capacity by 2028, supporting progress towards the UK’s SAF mandate which will require at least 10% of jet fuel used by airlines to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030.
Sarah Ellerby, Chief Executive of Nova Pangaea Technologies, said:
“Nova Pangaea Technologies are delighted to have secured this multi-million-pound investment. With support from the Government, and in partnership with British Airways and LanzaJet, we can now accelerate our next phase of development and the commercialisation of our technology, to help take the UK one step closer to becoming a global leader in SAF.
“Our first commercial-scale production facility will be the first of its kind in the UK, and will use wood residues and non-food derived agricultural waste as its feedstocks. Our partnership, Project Speedbird, will play a transformational role in decarbonising the aviation sector, as well as providing local employment opportunities in the North East.”
Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways, said:
“Sustainable aviation fuel will play a critical role in meeting our net zero targets and is currently the only realistic low carbon solution for long-haul flights, so it is vital that we continue to invest and develop SAF technology in order to create enough supply. We welcome the government’s investment and continued support in Project Speedbird which represents landmark new technology for UK SAF supply.  The UK has the potential to become a leader in the production of SAF, and this pioneering project is one step closer to this becoming a reality and a big moment for British Airways and UK SAF production more generally.” 
Jimmy Samartzis, Chief Executive Officer at LanzaJet, said:
“The aviation industry has set ambitious and necessary targets to address the urgency of climate change, and this next generation of sustainable aviation fuels will be critical to meeting the industry’s goals. Project Speedbird is a tremendous example of what it takes to scale the industry and meet this moment. Government support like this is critical in facilitating that growth and we’re thrilled to be working with exceptional partners like Nova Pangaea Technologies and British Airways – making sure these goals become reality.”

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Eve Air Mobility (“Eve”)  and Kookiejar, a Swedish-based vertiport developer, have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for Eve’s Urban ATM (Air Traffic Management) system to support vertiport operations in Dubai.  The agreement marks Eve’s first Urban ATM agreement in Dubai and Kookiejar becomes the company’s 10th Urban ATM customer and fifth vertiport customer as the company continues to grow its global customer base.
The agreement comes as Kookiejar, along with its local partner Air Chateau, is preparing to showcase Dubai’s first state of the art vertiport hub facility with eight parking pads and a FATO at Al Maktoum Airport, Dubai South. Eve’s Urban ATM (Air Traffic Management) product has been adopted as part of Kookiejar and Air Chateau’s grand vision for Dubai. The vision is a phased implementation program in which networks of vertiports will be connected via Eve’s Urban ATM system to support a safe and scaled Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations that provides a path to commercialization in 2025-2026.
“Urban air mobility relies on infrastructure within the lower air space as well as accessible takeoff and landing spots – vertiports. Eve’s Urban ATM solution provides an integrated suite of software that will enable an efficient and predictable eVTOL ecosystem,” said Rob Weaver, Urban ATM global business development lead at Eve Air Mobility.  “In Dubai, we are looking forward to working with KookieJar as they combine expertise in both ground and air infrastructure to design a flexible, sustainable and reliable vertiport network.”
Eve has engaged Atech, Embraer’s Air Traffic Control technology and system integrator company, to support the development of the Urban ATM software solution. Eve is leveraging Atech’s experience in developing aviation-grade products for ATM systems in Brazil.
“By leveraging decades of experience in one of the largest Urban Air Mobility operations of 1,500+ air taxi operations per day in Sao Paulo, the helicopter capital of the world, Eve’s Urban ATM system gives us the edge to integrate our Vertiports here in UAE and enable ANSPs to increase urban airspace capacity,” said Wassaf Akhtar, chief technology officer at Kookiejar. “This will provide equitable airspace access on our network of vertiports for eVTOLs.”ADVERTISEMENTKookiejar is already working with stakeholders in Dubai to carefully think about the routes that eVTOLs will take within existing VFR corridors that helicopters use today with its partners Vertiport Hub at Air Chateau and Dubai South.  The goal is to have eVTOLs operate seamlessly with existing commercial air traffic management systems and the UTM systems. This strategic agreement will bolster Dubai’s position in the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry by capitalizing on the synergies between Eve and Kookiejar.
From before take-off to after landing, the urban air environment will count on integrated systems, services and technologies being developed by Eve to support eVTOL operations alongside UTM systems and many other airspace users. In the future, the advancement of infrastructure and regulation will rely on these network management services to enable autonomous flight.
The company is also continuing to collaborate with regulators, customers air navigation service providers, fleet operators, vertiport developers, airports and other UAM ecosystems stakeholders globally to advance concepts and develop technology to support initial operation and scaling of UAM operations from an ATM perspective.

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Riyadh Air and IBM have announced the signing of a strategic agreement in which IBM Consulting will be the lead systems integrator to support creating, building and orchestrating the technology foundation that can help the digitally native airline offer exceptional and seamless travel experiences.Together, Riyadh Air and IBM Consulting have already created the airline’s digital and technology strategy. Now, Riyadh Air has selected IBM Consulting to support building the key business and technology capabilities that underpin the strategy. That includes implementing and integrating more than 50 airline industry solutions and core technology capabilities, including security, infrastructure, integration and data platforms, using a hybrid cloud approach. IBM will also orchestrate the work of over 40 partners by providing program and technical governance, project management, quality assurance, change and communications management and training.
The collaboration is expected to help position Riyadh Air strategically within the broader ecosystem to offer digital innovations and exceptional experiences for travelers and guests. Riyadh Air aims to create a world class airline with personalized and seamless guest experiences powered by AI and state of the art digital technology, taking obsessive care for details that create memorable micro-moments across the traveler journey. It also includes empowering employees with data-driven insights and new ways of working to help Riyadh Air better serve their guests.
“Our ambition is to launch our first flight in 2025 and put Riyadh Air at the cutting edge of digital technology and innovation within the aviation industry, adopting the best international sustainability and safety practices to deliver an exceptional travel experience, for our guests locally and internationally,” said Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer, Riyadh Air. “IBM Consulting will be our principal partner driving us towards our vision with their deep expertise in managing large complex systems and integration programs as well as their expertise in the travel industry.”
“We’re proud to be Riyadh Air’s partner and help them bring this new era of the Kingdom’s aviation industry to life,” said John Granger, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. “A technology foundation built with an open, hybrid cloud approach and AI can help them achieve the flexibility and agility needed to support their goal of delivering an exceptional travel experience for their guests.”
IBM Consulting will also establish and maintain Riyadh Air’s hybrid cloud integration platform. With IBM CloudPak for Integration and Red Hat OpenShift, this platform will provide integration tools to connect applications and data within a unified and simple user experience.ADVERTISEMENTRiyadh Air’s digital and technology strategy supports its mission and is aligned to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to lead the aviation industry by transforming Saudi Arabia, given its unique strategic location, into a global aviation and trade hub.
IBM Consulting helps accelerate business transformation for our clients through hybrid cloud and AI technologies, leveraging our open ecosystem of partners. With deep industry and business expertise spanning strategy, experience design, technology, and operations, we have become a trusted partner to the world’s most innovative and valuable companies, helping them modernize and secure their most complex systems. Our 160,000 consultants embrace an open way of working and apply our proven co-creation method, IBM Garage, to scale ideas into outcomes. As the only major global systems integrator inside a technology company, we don’t just advise—we invent and build what’s next together with our clients.

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Southwest Airlines Co. (“Southwest”) announced an offtake agreement with USA BioEnergy, LLC (“USA BioEnergy”), for up to 680 million gallons of neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Over the term of the 20-year agreement, once blended with conventional jet fuel, the SAF could produce the equivalent of 2.59 billion gallons of net-zero1 fuel and avoid 30 million metric tons of CO2. Southwest® plans to begin purchasing SAF from USA BioEnergy’s facility near Bon Wier, Texas, as early as 2028. Additionally, as part of the offtake agreement, Southwest and USA BioEnergy have established a long-term strategic relationship offering Southwest the opportunity to purchase up to another projected 180 million gallons of SAF per year from future planned production facilities.
“This offtake agreement with USA BioEnergy marks important progress in the development of our SAF portfolio and furthers our goal to replace 10 percent of our total jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030,” said Michael AuBuchon, Managing Director Fuel Strategy and Management at Southwest Airlines. “We look forward to the opportunity to grow our strategic relationship with USA BioEnergy and potentially purchase more SAF from them in the future.”
“Our agreement with Southwest Airlines is a perfect fit because it aligns Southwest’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and USA BioEnergy’s goal of becoming the leading producer of carbon-negative fuel,” said David Prom, Chairman of the Board, Co-Founder of USA BioEnergy. “USA BioEnergy is excited to work with Southwest on this initial project and, potentially, future sites we may add in our pipeline.”
Southwest recognizes the critical role that commercially viable SAF will play in the carrier’s strategy to achieve its near-term and long-term carbon goals and is taking action to forge relationships across the aviation value chain to proactively address the challenges on the path to its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. For more on the carrier’s SAF strategy, visit southwest.com/SAF.
Net zero is determined by a fuel with a carbon intensity of zero (0) gCO2e/MJ or lower on a lifecycle basis.ADVERTISEMENT

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easyJet has today announced the completion of its fleetwide retrofit, which has seen Airbus’ Descent Profile Optimisation (DPO) state-of-the-art technology now fitted on all of its aircraft, alongside Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) for compatible, newer aircraft in the easyJet fleet.
Descent Profile Optimisation (DPO) is a fuel-saving initiative which updates the Flight Management System (FMS) to enable consistently more efficient descents by allowing the aircraft to remain in the cruise phase longer and removing the ‘level-off’ stage at the bottom of the descent, which reduces carbon emissions. While Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) works in tandem with DPO to reduce noise.
The multi-million-pound retrofit programme, announced last year, is an integral part of the airline’s roadmap to reach net-zero by 2050. It will help easyJet achieve considerable and permanent carbon emission reductions in the short-term by enabling more optimised descent trajectories.
As well as saving on fuel burn and ultimately enabling carbon reductions – Descent Profile Optimisation (DPO) which is complementary to Continuous Descent Approach (CDA)* will also help in minimising noise which not only benefits the airline and its customers but also the airports and surrounding communities as a result of tighter noise regulations that are starting to be enforced.
Commenting on the completion of the DPO and CDA retrofit programme, Captain David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer at easyJet said:ADVERTISEMENT“While this is one initiative of many outlined in our roadmap to net-zero, it provides a permanent CO2 saving and forms another step on the way to us realising our net-zero target.
“While technologies like DPO and CDA are the best solution for more optimised descent trajectories in the here and now – more needs to be done by governments and policymakers to ensure that our airspace is modernised, including implementing Single European Sky, so that this state-of-the-art technology can be used to its full potential.”
Nicholas Chretien, Senior Vice President of Sustainability & Environment at Airbus added:
‘Airbus is happy to accompany easyJet in its decarbonisation journey. Thanks to Airbus technologies, easyJet seamlessly upgraded their fleet with Descent Profile Optimisation; illustrating our ambition to work with our airline partners. These innovative solutions developed at Airbus enable airlines to increase fuel savings and reduce emissions during operations.”
easyJet continues to work with stakeholders and public authorities across Europe to advocate for the modernisation of airspace, including projects such as the Single European Sky and the UK’s airspace modernisation programme. For example, the Single European Sky has stated an ambition to deliver 10% carbon emissions savings from European aviation.
easyJet is also one of the founding members of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) 3 Joint Undertaking, an institutionalised European public-private partnership, to accelerate the delivery of the Digital European Sky.
easyJet was also the first airline evaluation partner for IRIS, a ground-breaking air traffic management programme, led by global satellite communications leader Inmarsat, together with the European Space Agency and Airbus, that is set to pave the way for more efficient air traffic management by enabling systems that minimise flight delays, save fuel and help reduce the environmental impact of air travel.

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Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) payment orchestration platform to facilitate travel to sub-Saharan Africa. With this integration, airlines across the world are able to process payment from customers through cards, bank transfer, mobile money, alternative payment methods and other payment modes available on Flutterwave.
IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) is an omni-channel payment orchestration and management platform fully dedicated to the airline industry and has been designed to allow airlines to receive local payments from local markets through all their distribution channels. IATA has some 290 international airlines; this partnership enables them to easily expand their operations in Africa while receiving bookings and payments from customers in Africa using local and international payments methods.
Airlines and travel agencies can use Flutterwave via IFG to accept many forms of payment from customers when booking airline tickets. Instead of having to manage multiple complex connections to payment service providers in Africa, IFG offers a single global connection, with full end-to-end control on payment and settlement processes and seamless integration with ticketing systems and distribution channels.
Global airlines looking to collect local currencies through cards and indigenous methods of payments will find this integration useful, as it makes payments seamless for their millions of customers in Africa and other markets where Flutterwave operates.
Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Flutterwave CEO & Founder, said, ADVERTISEMENT“According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Africa is set to become one of the fastest growing aviation regions in the next 20 years with an annual expansion of nearly 5%. How can we further accelerate this growth? One way is to ensure airlines can easily set up operations across the continent and seamlessly receive payments from their customers. This partnership with IATA solves the problem of payments for global airlines venturing into Africa. We hope that this encourages more global airlines to expand into Africa.”
Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Senior VP, Financial Settlement and Distribution Services, said, “The IATA Financial Gateway supports the availability of new payment options in many markets. We welcome Flutterwave’s participation to bring secure and innovative payment methods to airlines, travel resellers and the traveling public in Africa.”

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