Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is the generic term for all aviation fuels that are produced without the use of fossil fuels such as crude oil or natural gas. SAF is a decisive technological key for more sustainable flying and is essential for the energy transition in aviation as it can be fed into regular flight operations without infrastructure adjustments.
SAF, which is used by the Lufthansa Group, reduces CO₂ emissions by at least 80% compared to fossil fuels on an annual average. To contribute to the use of SAF, we calculate your fuel consumption based on your chosen flight and ensure that exactly this amount of SAF is used on future Lufthansa Group flights – at the latest six months after your individual flight.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced in a resource-saving process. There are various manufacturing processes and different feedstocks are available as energy carriers. The current generation of SAF used by the Lufthansa Group is mainly produced from biogenic residues, such as used cooking oils and waste fats.
The special thing about is that although the combustion of SAF emits similar amounts of CO₂ emissions as fossil fuel, the use of SAF creates a CO₂ cycle: Biogenic residues that have previously removed CO₂ from the atmosphere are used as a feedstock for production. When SAF is burned, therefore, only as much CO₂ is emitted as was previously removed from the atmosphere by the feedstock. As CO₂ is currently still produced during the manufacturing and delivery process of SAF, it does not reduce CO₂ emissions by 100% over the entire supply chain compared to fossil fuel, but by at least 80% on an annual average.
SAF is currently around three to five times more expensive than fossil aviation fuels and is not yet available in sufficient quantities worldwide to use SAF on all flights. The Lufthansa Group is involved in numerous projects to ensure that Sustainable Aviation Fuel becomes available in larger quantities as quickly as possible. The more industrialized and scaled up production becomes, the more the price will decrease in the future.
To contribute to saving CO₂ emissions, we calculate the fuel required based on the estimated CO₂ emissions and ensure that exactly this amount of SAF is used on future Lufthansa Group flights. We calculate the price premium incurred to replace fossil fuel with Sustainable Aviation Fuel for an individual flight.
For each flight, the amount of CO₂ per passenger is estimated using an algorithm, taking into account the booking class and aircraft type. You can support the use of SAF corresponding to a defined share of these CO₂-emissions. We calculate the fuel required based on the estimated CO₂ emissions and guarantee to feed the purchased SAF into Lufthansa Group flight operations within six months after the respective flight. You only pay the difference between the regular fuel price and the SAF price. The SAF premium for the end customer is primarily based on prevailing market procurement costs.
SAF purchased by you as a customer is purchased in addition to regulatory obligations of Lufthansa Group and therefore does not serve to fulfil legal quotas.
The use of eligible SAF in 2024 was co-funded by the EU Emissions Trading System, with Lufthansa Group receiving EUR 13 million in support in 2025. Eligible SAF refers to eligible aviation fuels as defined in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/723 (FEETS).
Do you have any further questions about Sustainable Aviation Fuel?
The SAF used by the Lufthansa Group is produced from raw materials in accordance with the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EU Article 30) ‘RED II’. All SAF used is certified according to the ISCC or RSB system with a greenhouse gas reduction of at least 80%. The renewable part of the product is produced in a sustainable and ethical manner using good agricultural and industrial practices, complying with all applicable labour rights and laws and all environmental regulations, including but not limited to ILO Convention No. 138, ILO Convention No. 182 and ILO Convention No. 105. The product and raw material comply with applicable European legislation, in particular the latest Renewable Energy Directive.
