Sustainable Travel

New fleet with reduced emissions

We are continuing to phase in new, fuel-efficient aircraft and with 80 percent new aircraft, we boast one of Europe’s most modern fleets. Our new aircraft consume 15 to 30 percent less fuel compared with earlier models, reducing CO₂ and other emissions to the same extent. Another advantage of our new state-of-the-art aircraft is that they are less noisy and more comfortable, offering travelers a more pleasant inflight experience.

Next generation aircraft with zero emissions

For many years, we’ve been working to reduce the environmental impact of our flights by supporting initiatives in engine development, low or zero-emission aircraft and airport energy infrastructure.

By investing in new technology for the next generation of aircraft, we are helping drive development toward more sustainable aviation.

We believe that hydrogen hybrid aircraft will be particularly well suited for our network of medium to long-haul flights while our short-haul flights will be primarily electric.

Electric and zero-emission aircraft

In May 2019 we took a historic step by entering a partnership with Airbus to pave the way for the large-scale use of low and zero-emission electric and hydrogen powered commercial aircraft.

Hydrogen is a high-potential technology with a specific energy-per-unit mass that is three times higher than traditional jet fuel. If generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, it emits no CO₂ emissions, thereby enabling renewable energy to potentially power large aircraft over long distances but without the undesirable by-product of CO₂ emissions.

The Airbus ZEROe aircraft are expected to be available around 2035.

Nordic Network for Electric Aviation

To get there faster, we need to work together. Therefore, SAS is part of the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation (NEA). The NEA is an initiative created to make electric aviation routes possible and to speed up the arrival and use of electric aircraft in the Nordic countries. Being part of NEA allows us to work together with like-minded actors in the business to welcome the electric future of flying. 

The objective of the NEA is to unite the Nordic countries on electric air policy, plans, infrastructure and operations, and to enable regional point-to-point connectivity and develop aircraft technology to endure the at times not-so-friendly Nordic weather conditions.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

We are constantly striving to increase the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) such as biofuel, as these are the bridge on our journey toward zero-emission aircraft.

SAS is often at the forefront and was a pioneer in innovative research and the use of aviation biofuel already over 20 years ago. In November 2014, the first flight using a mix of biofuel was flown between the cities of Stockholm - Östersund, and Trondheim - Oslo, on a Boeing 737 aircraft.

Compared with fossil fuels, sustainable aviation fuel dramatically reduces climate-impacting CO₂ emissions over their lifecycle.

We are proud to below present several initiatives to both produce and increase use of SAF.

Production of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel

HySkies is an important project toward fossil free aviation where Vattenfall, SAS, Shell and LanzaTech together are investigating the production of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using the LanzaJet[TM] “Alcohol to Jet” technology on a large scale in Sweden.

Instead of using virgin fossil material in the production process, the synthetic SAF will be produced from fossil free electricity and recycled carbon dioxide from district heating.

The synthetic SAF, also known as electrofuel, will be produced from fossil free electricity and recovered carbon dioxide using the LanzaJet “Alcohol to Jet” technology, developed by LanzaTech and the U.S Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

When full production is up and running it could provide SAS with up to 25 percent of its global demand for sustainable aviation fuel in the 2030s.

In Denmark, SAS is a partner in the project Green Fuels for Denmark, headed by Ørsted. The project aims to produce electrofuel for aviation using wind power.

The production facility is expected to produce its first batch of synthetic SAF in 2025 and up to 250,000 tonnes by 2030 which would correspond to the consumption of SAS Copenhagen flights.

Travelers can buy biofuel

We are constantly working to develop more sustainable products and services. As part of this, we’ve made it easy for travelers to buy biofuel to reduce their climate-impacting CO₂ emissions.

Travelers can buy biofuel for 10 USD/10 EUR/100 SEK/100 NOK/70 DKK per 20-minute block of biofuel. This means you need to buy three blocks of biofuel for a 60-minute flight to add 100 percent biofuel for your flight.

The amount of biofuel purchased will be used to replace the equivalent amount of fossil fuel in SAS’ operations.

Even though according to regulations, aircraft may only operate with a maximum fuel mix of 50 percent SAF, by purchasing biofuel to cover an entire trip, travelers can contribute to reducing the overall use of fossil fuel in the same way as they can choose electricity from wind power for their homes.

SAS makes no profit on biofuel sales. The biofuel SAS sells is in addition to the amount of biofuel we have already committed to buy.

Corporate Sustainability Program

Aviation plays a vital role in society, transporting cargo and connecting businesses, people, and cultures in a time-efficient way. Traveling is also a mind-opening experience. These are all things we want future generations to enjoy as well.

For this reason, we are accelerating partnerships with corporate customers to decarbonize aviation by expanding usage of sustainable aviation fuel. By joining the Corporate Sustainability Program, cargo and corporate customers can reduce their Scope 3 emissions from air travel or transport.

We invite all corporate and cargo customers on board the journey toward more sustainable aviation.

SAS makes no profit on biofuel sales. The biofuel SAS sells is in addition to the amount of biofuel we have already committed to buy.

Travel pass biofuel

SAS for Business offers a program for frequent corporate travelers who want to fly more sustainably. Travel Pass Biofuel is a specially designed product for people who travel regularly to the same destination and are looking for the best deal, with maximum comfort in SAS Plus, and who want to make a more sustainable choice.

SAS makes no profit on biofuel sales. The biofuel SAS sells is in addition to the amount of biofuel we have already committed to buy.

Swedish X-country & alpine ski teams purchase biofuel from SAS

The Swedish national cross-country and alpine ski teams are purchasing biofuel from SAS in volumes corresponding to all their flights in Scandinavia as part of their sustainability initiative.

The two teams are now renewing their partnerships with us and purchasing additional biofuel, helping to reduce the CO₂ emissions from their flights.

We have worked with the Ski Association for a long time and are honored to fly national team stars to both competitions and training events.

Sustainable dining experiences

We are always developing our product and service offering by replacing materials with more sustainable alternatives and removing anything that is not necessary.

Sustainable travel:

It is quite simple. The fewer kilos we need to transport, the less fuel we consume. At SAS, we are working daily to find ways to reduce weight onboard our aircraft.

We are investing in a new fleet that uses modern materials with less weight. The new Airbus 320neo, for example, uses lighter carpets and the seat fabric is lighter. The new design of the seat trays also saves valuable kilos on every aircraft.

Another small detail that makes a big difference is changing the USB sockets on our aircraft. This isn’t something that travelers will notice, but it will make a huge difference across our fleet in terms of kilos reduced.

We can also reduce weight on our existing aircraft by replacing carpets and seat fabrics.

SAS Cargo is using containers that are 20 percent lighter than the ones that were used before. This alone enables us to reduce our emissions of CO₂ by more than 13,000 tonnes over a five-year period.

As a traveler, you can also make a difference by not packing more than you need.

Dry wash

Keeping our aircraft clean and shiny isn’t just about looking good, it’s also sustainable. A clean aircraft has less air resistance and therefore uses less fuel. This is why we’ve introduced a more sustainable way of cleaning our fleet.

Today, we dry wash our aircraft and can clean an entire long-haul A330 using just 60 liters of water compared with 13,000 liters of water earlier.

When dry washing, we apply a special cleaner that is removed with a special wet cloth. The cleaner is 96 percent biodegradable and leaves a surface that keeps the aircraft clean longer than conventional washing methods.