The US policy of incentivising sustainable aviation fuel production is a smarter, more effective method of increasing supply than Europe’s mandate system, according to SAS chief executive Anko van der Werff. Speaking at the Aviation Festival in Amsterdam on 5 October, he says the problem around SAF is not one of demand but supply, as “there is not an airline chief executive today who would not like to buy more SAF”. He believes that incentives are therefore a far better way to encourage production than penalising carriers that cannot meet certain targets. “There are lots of initiatives [to produce SAF in Europe] but the funding for those should be more positive rather than negative, but that’s a difference between the United States with its incentives, rather than utilisation penalties and taxation that we have in Europe,” he says. “I do think the US model works better to make sure that in three, four, five years we will be in a better shape than today.” The EU has mandated that airlines operating from the block must use SAF for at least 5% of their fuel departing flights starting in 2030. This approach has come in for heavy criticism for pushing up the price of the fuel, but not necessarily production. SAF already typically costs several times more that standard jet fuel. In contrast, the USA has adopted a series of credits that encourage the use of SAF, but do not penalise carriers that eschew the product. Van der Werff continued that as a Scandinavian airline, SAS is already working to a 2% SAF mandate, operating in markets that have pushed the issue “faster and earlier than anywhere else”. By 2030, he notes, both Denmark and Sweden are mandating that domestic air travel must be carbon neutral. “We will get there and we can get there,” he says. He continues that with future low-carbon technologies, such as electric aircraft and hydrogen power, being decades away the industry has no choice but to turn to SAF to decarbonise its operations. Van der Werff also expresses a desire for greater co-operation between airlines on the issue. “I think it is ludicrous that we are competing on this,” he says. “We are competing for the planet so we should be looking at the same solutions.”

WestJet has expanded its long-standing codeshare agreement with Korean Air. Under the new agreement, WestJet has placed its 'WS' code on Korean's flights between both Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International in Canada and Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, the Calgary-based airline says. This is WestJet's first reciprocal codeshare with an Asian partner, it adds. It had been in a codeshare pact with Korean Air since 2012. WestJet's commercial chief John Weatherill states: "We are looking forward to the new opportunities our now reciprocal codeshare will bring to consumers travelling between Canada and Asia."

Five of six additional Boeing 737 Max 8s being leased to LOT Polish Airlines by Air Lease Corporation were originally placed with Romania's Blue Air. The Polish flag carrier says an agreement on the aircraft was reached following Blue Air's suspension of operations in September. ALC already leases five Max 8s and one 787 to LOT. Earlier this month Blue Air disclosed that it would not resume operations as planned on 10 October as it remained locked in talks with investors over funding for a return to the skies. Data shows that Blue Air has five ALC-managed Max 8s in storage and another four on order. The US lessor also has one 737-700 and six 737-800s with the Romanian carrier. LOT says it is in the process of selecting a new fleet in the regional and narrowbody segment. "Until a supplier is selected, we are planning to source aircraft as a bridging solution – the first Embraer 175 and 190 have already joined LOT Polish Airlines' fleet and will soon be followed by the Boeing 737-8," it adds.