Executive travel
fuel,” Gallagher says. NetJets plans to purchase 325,000 US gallons of SAF within its first year of partnership with Air BP. The company has also made an additional purchase of three million gallons as part of a deal with Signature Flight Support, which will provide NetJets with enough SAF to account for all flights from San Francisco, where the fuel supply is located, as well as its home base in Columbus. “We will continue to explore additional SAF purchase opportunities in the US and Europe,” Gallagher adds, continuing that NetJets is also making strides in terms of carbon neutrality. The company’s European operations have been carbon neutral since 2012, “going above and beyond European Union regulations”. Looking ahead, Gallagher says that NetJets’ additional goals include “offsetting all administrative and training flights in the US beginning in 2021 and continuing [the] global Blue Skies programme, which allows owners to make their flights carbon neutral”.
Other private operators are following suit: in April, for instance, VistaJet announced its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2025, far surpassing the target of 50% by 2050 set by industry bodies. This would make it the first organisation of its kind to achieve full carbon neutrality.
Building back better But what are the challenges for executive travel companies looking to reduce their impact on the planet? According to Ricci, the question is simple: “How do you decouple the growth of the industry with the growth of its carbon footprint?” As the private aviation sector continues to expand and take on new passengers, particularly as borders reopen and normal business resumes, it will be more important than ever for operators to step up, reduce their footprint, and win over environment-conscious travellers. Sustainability initiatives are not only vital to save the planet, but also to keep growth steady. Ricci emphasises, however, that operators still need to be more aware of the different opportunities available to them. “Carbon offsetting has been around [for] 20 years, but there are still some difficulties around the different types of projects,” he says.
Even so, Ricci is keen to stress that the pandemic has not slowed progress. “We expected that Covid would slow down the conversation around sustainability, but it actually sped it up,” he says. “I think people kind of took a step back and thought ‘the industry is kind of low, how do we look at building it back better?’ – and we have seen that interest continue.” With this in mind, what might the future hold? Ricci believes this is a very exciting time for the
Chief Executive Officer /
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industry, as “we’re looking at new types of mobility – urban mobility, regional mobility – and each of those will have different sustainability solutions”. For example, he explains, short-haul flights will be moving towards the use of electric aircraft, whereas hydrogen power will be a more appropriate fit for medium-haul, and for long-haul flights the conversation will be around sustainable fuels. As Ricci explains, “all of these are going to need new aircraft designs [and] new propulsion technologies”, such as all-electric and hybrid electric solutions, which will help to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. “It’s very exciting to be in the industry right now and see where the sustainability push takes us, I think there are a lot of interesting ways that the industry could change.” NetJets is also looking for new solutions. “To expand our use of sustainable fuels we have invested in WasteFuel. This SAF initiative turns municipal waste into aircraft fuel,” Gallagher says. The company plans to open a new biorefinery, set to be operational by 2025, and which will turn one million tonnes of landfill waste into 30 million gallons of SAF. “We have committed to purchasing at least 100 million gallons of WasteFuel within ten years, with four more biorefinery sites to be developed in the coming years,” Gallagher adds. With continued plans for innovation in terms of both aircraft and fuels, it’s clear that the industry is not slowing down, and is preparing to adjust to a new reality – one where passengers expect airlines to be conscious of their environmental impact. Although corporate travel is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels any time soon, new fuels and technologies should ensure that executive jet operators continue to attract new passengers. After all, an instant coffee in economy can’t compare with champagne and personalised service on a charter flight. ●
Leaders in private aviation are looking for new sustainability solutions to counter growing demand.
92% NetJets 43
The percentage growth in demand for NetJets services between July 2020 and July 2021.
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istockphoto.com
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