Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
What is SAF?
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is made from more sustainable resources. Like waste oils of organic origins (such as used cooking oil). This means the Sustainable Aviation Fuel we use:
- Is a renewable feedstock
- Can avoid at least 75% of the total lifecycle CO₂ emissions compared to fossil jet fuel
- Reduces other harmful emissions like particulates and sulphur
What type of Sustainable Aviation Fuel does KLM use?
In 2011 we carried out the world’s first commercial flight partly powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from used cooking oil. KLM only buys SAF produced from raw materials that do not compete with food production or affect biodiversity. For example, we don’t use soy and palm oil as these sources can be responsible for high deforestation rates.
All our sustainable fuel meets the criteria issued by:
A bit of SAF for every flight from Amsterdam
We add 1% SAF to the fuel system at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for every flight departing from there. This means we’ve doubled the 0.5% SAF we started with in 2022. While 1% SAF may seem very little, it’s an important step in the right direction. Our goal is to gradually incorporate more SAF, aiming for 10% of our total kerosene use by 2030.
As we use more SAF, we’ve adjusted our ticket prices. The price increase is based on the distance of your flight and your travel class. We will add the SAF to the fuel system within 12 months after your flight, depending on the product's availability in the market.
To achieve our goal of 10% SAF use by 2030, we’re collaborating with businesses that fly with us for business or cargo transport. You can also contribute by adding extra SAF to your booking. Through these collective efforts, we used one-tenth of the global SAF production in 2022, and we’re committed to accelerating the use and production of SAF further.
In 2011, KLM carried out the world’s first commercial flight partly powered by fuel made from used cooking oil.
Why not use 100% SAF?
Unfortunately, Sustainable Aviation Fuel has yet to be available on a large scale. This means that SAF is at least 3 to 4 times more expensive. Today, just a very small part of the millions of tons of kerosene used by commercial airlines is SAF. To significantly impact aviation’s overall carbon emissions, the contribution of our passengers helps.
Your eco-footprint
When you book a flight at KLM, we offer the option to buy extra SAF. The price for your contribution is calculated based on several factors that influence the amount of CO₂ emissions of your flight, like the type of aircraft, distance, and historical load factor.
With your contribution to SAF, you help to reduce air travel dependency on fossil fuels. We purchase 1% SAF for all flights departing from Amsterdam. It’s a start, but with your help, we can do more.
About calculating your carbon emissions
Every year the accountancy organisation KPMG audits KLM to verify whether KLM’s calculation methods comply with the methods described below and are in line with principles as defined by international guidelines. The audit scope is available in the KPMG audit report.
Our latest methods and audit report:
Check the expected amount of CO₂ emissions for your flight in My Trip or when you book a flight.
Add SAF to your booking
You can add Sustainable Aviation Fuel while making your booking. Log in to My Trip if you already have a booking and want to add SAF.
Does your booking contain more than 1 passenger? Please note that adding SAF via My Trip is no longer possible if you’ve already added it for 1 of the passengers while booking.
What we do with your contribution to SAF
With your contribution, we buy extra SAF that we add to the fuel system at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (or 1 of the other airports where we add SAF). Your flight will not directly include your extra SAF contribution because it is logistically inefficient and complicated to arrange.
Because we add SAF to the airport fuel system, also other flights depart with more SAF on board. But they can't claim CO₂ reduction because they didn't pay for the SAF. KLM is audited annually to ensure that the claimed CO₂ reduction corresponds to the SAF certificates we have received.
Your extra SAF contribution is 100% used to buy more SAF. KLM does not make a profit on this.
Want to do more?
There are things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. For instance, travelling light or bringing your earbuds or water bottle. Or buying SAF. We also offer our passengers the option to help compensate for part of the estimated CO₂ emissions of their flight by contributing to our selected reforestation projects.
Frequently asked questions
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is made from waste and residues (such as used cooking oil). SAF can be used interchangeably with conventional aviation fuel in jet engines. Currently, we are allowed to add a maximum of 50% SAF. We always add 1% SAF to the fuel system at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We strive to reduce our CO₂ emissions by using more SAF in the future.
SAF can be produced from various feedstocks such as used cooking oil, municipal waste, waste gases, and agricultural residues. It can also be made from renewable electricity, and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere. The SAF we use primarily comes from used cooking oil.
SAF is a crucial solution to reducing the negative impact of aviation on the climate. The market is still in its infancy. We need to scale up the use of SAF between now and 2030 and then even further through 2050.
With reforestation, we still emit the same amount of CO₂. Reforestation helps to compensate for that with trees that absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere. It will not make our flights any greener. Therefore, reforestation isn’t a sustainable solution in the long term.
Using SAF does contribute to less CO₂ emissions and makes flying somewhat more sustainable. Unfortunately, SAF is still 3-4 times more expensive than fossil kerosene.