United States firms sign record sustainable aviation fuel deal
PUBLISHED Jun 9, 2026, 11:03 AM ET
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United States – American Airlines and Google have signed what they describe as the largest publicly announced sustainable aviation fuel certificate agreement between an airline and a single corporate customer, underscoring a growing push to curb emissions from business travel. Under the three-year deal, American Airlines will purchase and take delivery of physical jet fuel at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, with the sustainable portion produced from waste feedstocks such as used cooking oil. The arrangement will unlock 35 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel, which is expected to deliver an estimated reduction of nearly 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions compared with conventional jet fuel over the life of the agreement. United States – The agreement uses the SAFc Registry to allocate the environmental benefits of the low-carbon fuel to Google, allowing the company to address emissions associated with employee business travel while American integrates the fuel as a drop-in product in its regular operations. Sustainable aviation fuel is viewed as a key tool for decarbonizing air transport because it can cut life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% relative to traditional petroleum-based jet fuel and can also be produced synthetically from captured carbon dioxide and renewable electricity. American Airlines and its Oneworld alliance partners are pairing this certificate deal with investments in operational efficiencies and modern aircraft technology to support wider adoption of cost-competitive sustainable fuel alternatives.
By Emily Rhodes | JQJO News
Timeline of Events
- Recent years SAF viewed as key decarbonization tool
- Recently American and Google negotiate SAF certificates
- This week parties announce record SAF agreement
- Three-year period to unlock 35 million gallons
- During term SAF supplied to Chicago O’Hare
- During term Google receives SAFc environmental benefits
- Ongoing American upgrades fleet and operational efficiency
- Future years deal expected to support SAF scaling
News Intelligence
- This deal could help reduce air travel's carbon footprint. If you're concerned about climate change, this is a step in the right direction. You can support this effort by choosing airlines that use sustainable fuels.
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