Sustainable aviation fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel

The clearest near-term way for us to decarbonize is by using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is why purchasing and helping scale SAF production is the cornerstone of our climate strategy this decade. American has commitments covering more than 620 million gallons of SAF from 2025–2030. In 2022, we used more than 2.5 million gallons of SAF and were one of the few airlines to report using more than 1 million gallons during the year.

2.5 M gallons of SAF used in 2022
620 million gallons total SAF commitment as of 2022
Graphic showing the lifecycle emissions difference between conventional jet fuel (+89g CO2e/MJ) and sustainable aviation fuel (60-80% fewer life cycle emissions)

* Emissions data are averages, based on estimates from LCA of Current & Future GHG Emissions from Petroleum Jet Fuel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment (opens in new tab). CO2e per megajoule (MJ) is a measure of GHG emissions per unit of energy.

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst

Scaling SAF production will take the combined efforts of the private and public sectors. One way American is helping advance those efforts is as an anchor partner of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a groundbreaking program within the larger Breakthrough Energy network that is working to accelerate the development and commercialization of critical technologies for decarbonization, including SAF.

More on Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (opens in new tab)
Breakthrough energy Catalyst

Emphasizing responsible SAF production

SAF’s success at reducing emissions depends on the feedstock, technologies and techniques used to produce it. For example, it shouldn’t use methods that compete with food production or contribute to deforestation, biodiversity loss or other adverse impacts. Among our SAF commitments, we expect to purchase 500 million gallons over five years from Gevo, with deliveries expected to start in 2026. This company’s process uses residual starch from industrial field corn.

More about our SAF suppliers (opens in new tab)
Cloudy skies on a sunny day

Visit our Resource Center for links to numerous American Airlines documents, policies, webpages and other sources of information about our company’s approach on various sustainability topics.

Sustainability at American Airlines

Our annual sustainability report details American’s approach to managing our priority sustainability issues, along with highlights of our progress and performance during the year.

About American Airlines

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