Air France To Match Its Customers’ Voluntary Contributions To The Purchase Of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

As an official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics Games, Air France has announced that it will be matching the amount of each customer subscription to the “Environment-sustainable aviation fuels” option during the Paris 2024 Games. This is effective from today, and will automatically apply to all bookings for travel between 18 July and 9 September 2024 to destinations in mainland France, as well as French Polynesia.

If a customer makes a contribution of €50, this will be matched by Air France, making a total of €100. Since 2022, the “Environment-Sustainable Aviation Fuels” option has been available when purchasing an Air France flight on the airfrance.com website or the Air France app. All the funds raised are invested in the purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).

By 2030, Air France aims to incorporate at least 10% of sustainable aviation fuels on all its flights worldwide, compared with 1% today. This target goes beyond the European incorporation mandates.

In 2023, and for the second year running, the Air France-KLM Group was the world’s leading user of sustainable aviation fuel.

To reduce its environmental footprint as quickly as possible, Air France has developed an ambitious decarbonisation trajectory, aiming for a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 2030, compared with 2019.

Called Air France Act, this programme is based on several levers:

• fleet renewal, by using the latest generation of aircraft, the Airbus A350 and A220, reducing fuel consumption by 20 to 25% and reducing our noise footprint by more than a third. Every year, Air France invests over one billion euros in fleet renewal. By 2030, the airline’s fleet will comprise 80% of new generation aircraft (compared to 21% currently and 45% by the end of 2025).
•  the increased use of sustainable aviation fuel,
• operational measures including eco-piloting (taxiing on one engine, direct flight paths in liaison with air traffic control, continuous descents),
• the development of intermodality (combining a train trip and a flight in a single booking).

Air France is committed to developing the use of sustainable aviation fuels as much as possible, starting today, as a decisive lever for decarbonising air transport. Air France intends to lead the way by supporting the development of production facilities in France, Europe and around the world. Made from non-fossil resources such as used oils or agricultural waste, they are a substitute for fossil fuel. The SAF selected by Air France-KLM reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 75% over their entire life cycle – from production to combustion – compared to fossil fuel. They meet strict sustainability criteria, as they do not compete with food chains and are not made from palm oil. They can be blended with conventional fuel without modifying aircraft, engines or logistics and storage infrastructures.