Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has partnered with World Energy, a carbon-net-zero solutions provider, to operate a NetZero flight powered entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Book & Claim, delivering passengers to COP27 with zero net emissions.
The airline will operate its Washington Dulles to Abu Dhabi service, routed via COP27 venue Sharm El Sheikh to demonstrate a feasible path to net-zero commercial aviation using current technology.
“Guests onboard the flight will not be charged any extra premium for their fare but preparing a NetZero flight without charging each passenger and cargo shipment a surcharge is a challenge given that the cost to produce SAF is four times higher than JetA1,” according to the statement.
The statement said that the extra costs will be mitigated by several sources, including government subsidies reducing the SAF cost by 50 percent, the Corporate Conscious Choice program contributing 28 percent, and the Etihad Guest Raffle providing 22 percent. A final 10 percent to partially offset additional operational and handling costs will be generated by tokenizing and trading CO2e avoidance credits.
“This initiative is about proving NetZero commercial aviation is possible, but equally facing up to the significant logistical challenges the industry faces to turn the possible into the routine,” Mariam Alqubaisi, Head of Sustainability and Business Excellence at Etihad Airways, said.
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