Six Oneworld members have jointly committed to purchasing up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year from US company Gevo. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways expect to use the SAF for operations in California for five years from 2027, says Oneworld. In November 2021, nine members of the alliance jointly signed a tentative SAF agreement with another US company, Aemetis, through which they intend to purchase more than 350 million gallons of waste-wood-based fuel to power operations from San Francisco. “Five months ago, we committed as an alliance to a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030,” Oneworld’s chief executive Rob Gurney states. “Today’s announcement of a second major sustainable aviation fuel offtake among member airlines builds further upon that commitment, while demonstrating the value that can be delivered when our member airlines work together.”Patrick Gruber, chief executive of Colorado-based renewable fuels producer Gevo, adds: “Eliminating fossil-based emissions from the lifecycle of jet fuel is our mission. Net-zero SAF is what we all want. I’m pleased that Oneworld is on board.”
Gevo expects to use inedible corn products to produce its SAF at three facilities under development in the US Midwest. In December 2019, Delta Air Lines made a commitment with Gevo to buy 10 million gallons of biofuel annually.

China Eastern is grounding its entire Boeing 737-800 fleet following the flight MU5735 crash on 21 March, state-owned broadcaster China Media Group reports citing information from the airline. Data shows that China Eastern Airlines has 109 in-service 737-800 aircraft across four airport bases, less than seven years old on average. 29 jets are at the group’s main Shanghai Hongqiao International airport base, with another 40 at Yunnan’s Kunming Changshui International airport, 31 at Wuhan Tianhe International airport, and nine at Guangdong’s Guangzhou Baiyun International airport. China Eastern subsidiaries Shanghai Airlines and China United Airlines have, respectively, 70 and 45 737-800 jets, averaging nine and six years old. It is unclear from the reports if these airlines are affected by the grounding. Data shows flight MU5735 was scheduled to fly from Kunming to Guangzhou, departing at 13:10 and arriving 15:05. The flight was operated by an aircraft bearing registration B-1791, MSN 41474. It was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming to Guangzhou on board when it crashed at Wuzhou, Guangxi province. Media reports suggest there are no indications of survivors. Data and analysis by real-time route tracker Flightradar24 shows the aircraft departed at 13:16. Operations appeared to be normal until the aircraft began a rapid descent to 7,425 ft AMSL, from 14:20. It briefly climbed to 8,600ft AMSL at 14:22:05 but plunged to 3,225ft AMSL, at 14:22:35, when the last ADS-B message was received. Aircraft registration information filed with the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows that ownership lies with an entity known as Yamasa Sangyo Aircraft CES14 Kumiai. A bank loan with Commerzbank AG, Hong Kong branch has been secured against the aircraft.

Delta Air Lines has signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate with Airbus on the research and development of hydrogen-powered aircraft. Under terms of the agreement, Delta will provide to Airbus its fleet and network expectations, along with "the operational and infrastructure requirements needed to develop commercial aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel", the Atlanta-based carrier states. The partners will focus on challenges such as flight range limits, refuelling time and airport compatibility. “To pull the future of sustainable aviation forward, we need to accelerate the development and commercialisation of potentially disruptive technologies,” Pam Fletcher, Delta’s chief sustainability officer, states. “Hydrogen fuel is an exciting concept that has the potential to redefine the status quo. These tangible steps lay the groundwork for the next generation of aviation.” Julie Kitcher, Airbus’s executive vice-president of communications and corporate affairs, adds: “Through close collaboration with key partners, such as Delta, we will integrate our customers’ expertise and specific needs to ensure our zero-emission aircraft will be a game-changer for sustainable aerospace.”