Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is critical to decarbonizing air freight, but scaling it requires collaboration across the entire aviation value chain—including aircraft manufacturers.
In this episode of Smart Freight Conversations: The Catalyst Series, Andy Golding, Director of Strategic Services at Smart Freight Centre, spoke with Cécile Calvet Fabre and Andrea Caderon, SAF Program Managers at Airbus, about how the aerospace giant has started using its own operations as a testing ground for SAF, is advancing book and claim mechanisms, and is pushing the boundaries of aircraft efficiency.
Fleet Renewal Remains the Biggest Lever
As an aircraft manufacturer, Airbus most direct decarbonization contribution comes
from fleet renewal. The new
A350F freighter is 40% more fuel-efficient than old-generation freighters, and Airbus is also exploring disruptive technologies like open fan engines, morphing wings, and hydrogen-powered aircraft.
But for the fleet flying today, SAF remains the most practical solution, capable of cutting lifecycle emissions by up to 80% on average. Airbus is working to remove the current 50% blend limit, aiming to make all its aircraft 100% SAF-compatible.
Walking the Talk: Airbus as Its Own SAF Laboratory
Airbus has been using SAF in its Beluga fleet since 2019, along with flight tests, aircraft deliveries, and internal shuttle operations–driven by its Science Based Targets initiative
(SBTi) commitments to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 63% by 2030.
The company is also exploring its Scope 3 footprint, partnering with airlines including
Air France,
easyJet and
Lufthansa to use employee business travel as a demand signal for voluntary SAF adoption. This "learning by doing" approach lets Airbus experience firsthand the same challenges any SAF buyer faces: pricing, availability, chain of custody, and certification.
Book and Claim: A Key Lever for Scaling Demand
Because SAF isn’t always physically available where it’s needed, Airbus sees book and claim systems as essential to scaling adoption. The company has developed its own Airbus Book and Claim Demonstrator with several stakeholders to better understand how book and claim registries work and how customers can capture value from SAF certificates. What’s missing, according to Airbus, is regulatory visibility. Broader recognition of book and claim in accounting standards–including from SBTi–would unlock significant voluntary demand.
Three Barriers to Scaling SAF: Supply, Demand, and Regulation
Airbus frames the SAF challenge across three dimensions:
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Supply – Enough SAF production capacity is projected by 2035, but many
projects stall before reaching final investment decision due to weak demand
signals, with producers defaulting to renewable diesel instead.
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Demand — With SAF currently making up less than 1% of the global jet fuel demand, and being 3–5 times more expensive than conventional jet fuel (up to 11 times for e-SAF), demand is mainly driven by mandates as of today.
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Regulation — Strong policy signals, similar to ICAO’s role in aviation safety, are
needed to align incentives across global and local markets.
Education as a Foundation for Action
Airbus has built an internal digital knowledge center to raise SAF awareness among
employees–particularly those in fuel procurement and customer-facing roles–covering
market trends, regulations, and technical topics like book and claim and chain of Custody.
Looking Ahead
Both Cécile and Andrea pointed to book and claim regulatory recognition and the
broader socioeconomic benefits of SAF–job creation, improved air quality, reduced
fossil fuel dependence–as the developments they’re most excited to see unfold over the next few years.
Listen to the full episode of Smart Freight Conversations to learn more about Airbus approach to scaling SAF and driving freight decarbonization.
