Qantas has signed a deal with US biofuels company Aemetis to purchase almost 20 million litres (5.3 million USgal) of blended sustainable aviation fuel each year for its flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Australia, starting in 2025. This is Qantas’ second major offshore purchase of SAF with flights from London using a blend of sustainable fuel since the start of this year, the Australian airline says in a release today. The sustainable fuel will be produced at Aemetis’ plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. It will come from certified feedstock from waste products that is then blended with normal jet fuel. Qantas is pursuing a number of additional deals to add more SAF in the USA and other international airports. The national carrier says it is aiming to be net carbon neutral by 2050 and will outline an interim target later this month. Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce says “operating our aircraft with sustainable aviation fuel is the single biggest thing we can do to directly reduce our emissions”. Joyce adds: “We’re actively looking to source sustainable aviation fuel for our operations, and the deal we’re announcing today is hopefully one of many we’ll make as the market catches up to demand globally.” He states that Qantas has already committed A$50 million ($36 million) to support the development of a SAF industry in Australia.

Scottish regional carrier Loganair will add a fuel surcharge to tickets later this month, to help it cope with rising oil prices.
The airline will from 21 March add a £3.95 ($5.17) surcharge to the price of each one-way flight, across its network, with the exception of public service obligation (PSO) routes. Loganair says it has hedged more than 50% of its fuel for the 12 months from 1 April, but the recent spike in oil prices that has followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that it cannot absorb the additional costs without introducing the extra charge. “For the remainder of our fuel volume, the rise in global oil prices equates to an additional cost of £4.7 million in the coming year at today’s oil price,” says Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles. “It is simply impossible for us to absorb this impact, especially where airlines including Loganair still face significant uncertainty over the pace of recovery in passenger numbers from the pandemic.” The airline says it will halve the surcharge if the price of Brent crude oil falls below $110 per barrel for six consecutive weeks, and remove it if the price drops below $85 per barrel for the same consecutive time period.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has indefinitely suspended Kulula.com and British Airways flights in South Africa. Comair, which operates both Kulula.com and British Airways had hoped to resume flying again by midday on Sunday. SACAA suspended kulula.com and British Airways flights for 24 hours on Saturday. It was a precautionary suspension following a review of certain policies, systems and procedures. SACAA said it undertook the review because of the recent spate of safety incidents at Comair. The SACAA wanted to confirm Comair's compliance with applicable Civil Aviation Regulations. So, Comair was to use those 24 hours to show that its risk and safety management systems were effective in managing potential hazards. As the 24-hour suspension drew close to an end, the Authority said it recognised Comair's efforts to resolve the matter as speedily as possible. But the Authority found that there are risks that Comair must attend to immediately. SACAA said after working through the night to review the evidence received from Comair, it raised three level 1 findings and one level 2 finding. A level 1 finding shows an immediate risk to safety and security, and it must be closed with immediate effect. Level 2 findings must be closed within 7 days. "The SACAA is fully committed to ensuring that the operator is back in the air and has dedicated a full team to assess and review the evidence as it gets submitted. The commitment to safety, in this case, supersedes any other need, and this is to ensure that South Africa maintains its safety record of having ZERO fatal airline accidents," said the regulator in a statement. Earlier on Sunday morning, Comair said it was planning to resume Kulula.com and British flights by midday. At the time, Comair was still engaging with the Civil Aviation Authority to lift the suspension. "We are doing everything possible to get the suspension lifted. We continue to engage constructively with the SACAA and are working hard to provide the CAA with the additional information it requires," said Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond at the time. All flights are cancelled. Comair said it is unable to confirm when it will start flying again. "This is a huge blow to our customers, employees and the flying public as it effectively takes 40% of the capacity out of the market. The implications for the aviation sector and the country are considerable should the suspension continue for any length of time," said Orsmond.
Orsmond added that Comair's priority now is to assist stranded passengers. He said the company will keep customers updated via SMS . "We have chartered two aircraft to assist vulnerable passengers and those who most urgently need to travel."