United Airlines has today announced that The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund now boasts 22 partners, with the addition of Aircastle, Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis, Safran Corporate Ventures and Technip Energies.
On Wednesday (February 14, 2024), United Airlines announced the addition or Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mizuho Leasing Company) Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Nataxis Corporate Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies to The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund. Now with 22 corporate members, the fund has commitments of over $200 million, including nearly $500,000 from over 115,000 United customers since February 2023. This is a first-of-its-kind effort to reduce emissions and to drive the production of SAF through investments in startups.
In Wednesday’s announcement, United Airlines Ventures’ Managing Director, Andrew Chang, said,
“SAF is the best tool we have to decarbonize airplanes, but we don't have enough of it. To create the fuel supply we need for our fleet, United recognized that we would have to help build a brand-new industry from scratch – like wind and solar in previous decades. As part of our effort to build a new sustainable aviation ecosystem, we recruited a group of partners with the industry expertise to support our startups with both financial and strategic capital, to help them navigate the entire process from conception to commercialization.”
United customers can also participate when using the carrier’s website or mobile app, with an option to contribute to the fund before checkout, as users can donate $1.00, $3.50 or $7.00. The carrier also displays the estimated carbon emissions for flights booked through either platform. An alternative to conventional jet fuel, SAF reduces lifecycle GHG emissions. Thus far, United has committed to the future production of five billion gallons of SAF, more than any other airline worldwide.
At United Airlines, ‘Good Leads the Way.’ The airline operates the most comprehensive network among North American carriers with U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. As measured by available seat miles (ASMs), United is now the world’s largest airline. Shares in the company’s parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., are publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘UAL.’
Source: United Airlines/PRNewswire