News

In an industry first, boutique airline AirGO, which specialises in the sales, management and charter of mono fleets, and award-winning charter broker, Victor, have announced a partnership which will see the introduction of ‘opt-out’ Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) into the standard pricing structure.

A new quotation format will promote the use of (SAF) and invert the approach of existing schemes by asking buyers if they want to ‘opt-out’ of the programme, rather than requiring them to ‘opt-in’ at the end of the transaction. The AirGO-Victor initiative will apply to all AirGO flights booked via Victor’s transparent marketplace and will mean the cost of SAF is incorporated into the total price of the charter. The project uses AirGO’s SAF Book & Claim model, developed in partnership with CO2 offsetting specialist Compensaid and powered by Lufthansa. If customers do not wish to contribute to the use of CO2-neutral synthetic aviation fuel, they are able to actively opt-out of the programme.

The project, which is due to go live in early 2022, aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact of a journey at the point of quotation and facilitate flyers in reducing their emissions. This follows research by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that reveals the uptake for opt-in emissions compensation schemes is as low as 1% for commercial flights. AirGO and Victor’s initiative will make it easier for consumers to take responsibility for their carbon footprint, whilst raising the profile and demand for SAF within the business aviation industry.

Daniela Flierl, managing director at AirGO, said: “By partnering with Victor, we are acknowledging the role we businesses must play to secure the sustainable future of both our industry and our planet, and we are seeking to prompt individuals to make more environmentally conscious choices. The most common carbon offsetting schemes available today promote afforestation and renewable energy programmes which ‘cancel out’ or minimise the damage caused by carbon emissions. The issue with these approaches is that they have a delayed impact – and we all know that’s not enough. By comparison, the use of SAF results in an immediate reduction in carbon emissions. While of course the industry has a long way to go, this project is a first step towards normalising the need to make sustainable choices when travelling.”

Toby Edwards, Co-CEO at Victor, comments: “At Victor, we believe in a better way to fly, and part of this mission is to make it easier for our clients to reduce their carbon emissions when they choose to charter an aircraft. This innovative new partnership with AirGO, a company I’ve worked with for nearly a decade, is perfectly aligned with our vision. Just like Victor, AirGO is passionate about transparency, particularly around disclosing the carbon emissions of each flight. This joint initiative will allow Victor clients to easily compare the fuel-efficient Piaggio Avanti with SAF included in the charter price, side-by-side with other more carbon intensive options, which we hope will drive better decision-making. This is just a part of a much bigger project to support the adoption of advanced fuels and we’re excited to see the uptake from our customers and the wider broker community.”

The AirGO mono fleet is comprised of the Piaggio Avanti EVO, the most fuel-efficient aircraft on the market. According to the B&CA 2020 Purchasing Planning Handbook, similar sized aircraft produce up to 100% more carbon emissions per flight than the Avanti EVO. With the price of fossil fuels trending upwards, the difference in cost between Avanti EVO flights fuelled by SAF and fossil fuel flights is set to decrease over the coming years.

Since 2018, Victor has been on a long-term journey to lead the private aviation industry through the next phase of innovation to a more environmentally responsible future. Every Victor flight is 200% carbon offset as standard, as part of the company’s award-winning approach to climate action. True to the company’s core value of transparency, Victor publishes its CO2 emissions and reduction measures annually, and every Victor charter quote is labelled with its carbon impact, including fuel burn, CO2 emissions, and mitigation, allowing customers to make informed decisions to reduce their carbon footprint.