Loading

In order to get to net zero by 2050 Qantas is aiming to have 60 per cent SAF in the fuel mix across the whole group by then.

So Joyce is using these sustainability announcements to signal to the market that Qantas is a willing buyer of these fuels if someone is prepared to produce them.

The world aviation industry is responsible for 2 per cent of emissions - so there is plenty of incentive, particularly for a long-haul airline like Qantas, to get on board with reducing carbon.

The aviation industry has been slow to innovate around greener energy sources when compared with the adoption of renewables such as wind and solar more generally.

In the meantime, Qantas is clearly working around the edges at improving its green footprint where possible. The obvious first target is the replacement of its domestic fleet with more fuel efficient aircraft but it would have been looking to do this regardless of the environmental impact because fuel is a major cost for its business.

In recent years it has been phasing out the more fuel inefficient aircraft in its fleet such as the Boeing 747 and replacing them with less fuel intensive Boeing 787.

Realistically, some of the nextgen technologies such as hydrogen and batteries are not feasible to power airlines for several decades. Qantas hasn’t ruled out very short haul small prop planes using these technologies down the track but these flights are responsible for a very small fraction of emissions so it’s not the main game.

And establishing the infrastructure at airports to take hydrogen is also a prohibitively expensive exercise at this point.

Meanwhile, Qantas is tinkering around the edges with initiatives like phasing out single use plastic, lighter cutlery and crockery and even getting lighter seats and serving trolleys inside aircraft.

And if that isn’t enough, Qantas has even initiated the ‘single engine runway taxi’, whereby the pilots use only one engine when taxiing before take-off and after landing. Apparently, aircraft are particularly fuel inefficient when moving on land.

Who knew!

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.