Use of book-and-claim system will help stimulate SAF demand
Lee Ann Shay
Bombardier signed an agreement worth “multimillion dollars” with Signature Flight Support to provide sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) based on the book-and-claim system for its flight operations. Book-and-claim systems allow operators to buy SAF where the actual fuel is not available and get credit for the higher-cost fuel. The actual fuel will be used by someone where the SAF is pumped so it does not have to be transported, a process that stimulates demand for SAF.
“We are proud to be the first business aviation manufacturer to cover all of our operational flights with SAF,” says Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Bombardier’s executive vice president for services and support, and corporate strategy.
The multiyear contract starts on Jan. 1 and covers Bombardier operations including production testing, certification flights, flights to completion centers, demonstration flights and service checks flights.
“[Using SAF] will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from fuel use in flight operations by approximately 25% annually,” Gallagher says. “[SAF] is, simply put, the fastest path of make a meaningful net reduction in emissions.” Bombardier hopes this contract will further stimulate the fuel’s availability and adoption in business aviation. Bombardier starting using SAF in some of its demonstration flights in 2017.
Credit: Brett Schauf/ShowNews
“This is a great step forward for Signature Renew, our company-wide sustainability initiative, as the first network of private aviation terminals to offer the permanent supply of SAF,” says Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre.
“Over the last two years, Signature Aviation has grown its sustainable aviation supply points to 17 airports around the world, or just 10% of our total network,” he says. “[We are] working aggressively to expand the availability of SAF.” But he acknowledges that book-and-claim “provides critical coverage to current gaps in the supply while immediately taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.”
Lefebvre says Signature started with about 2 million gal. of SAF and has increased that to 15 million gal. “Our hope is to have 17 million, which represents a small portion of our average of about 350 million gal. per year,” he says. SAF supply is “coming on slowly” but “we take the bulk of the available capacity,” says Lefebvre, who estimates Signature obtains 8% of the total SAF availability.
Last year, Signature and Bombardier started collaborating on various service initiatives, including SAF and maintenance support.