Since 2020 AirGO has been one of the pioneering business jet operators offering its passengers high-quality carbon projects to support in order to compensate for the share of CO2 emissions of their travels.
We have chosen a method that allows our customers to opt for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) which bears the significant advantage of an immediate impact.
Today, the availability of SAF, a fuel extracted from resources like preexisting waste materials, is gradually increasing but still limited. Compared to traditional fossil-based fuel, SAF reduces up to 80% of the emissions of flight-related operations. We have been able to present our customers with options to invest in SAF to participate in scaling the development and adoption of this key technology of the future.
Enabled by the book & claim model AirGO’s customers have been able to compensate for the carbon emissions on any flight by purchasing SAF within a network. At the bottom line, for the carbon balance, it doesn’t matter where in the network the consumption of the resource takes place, as long as the investment causes the renewable resource to be brought to the network.
Now, to create a seamless experience for booking such compensated flights and to simplify opting for SAF even more, we will offer this automatically with every flight.
To achieve this AirGO has two technology partners on board: SQUAKE and LEON Software.
Our new partner SQUAKE is an end-to-end solution with an engine for precise calculation of carbon emissions and related compensation costs. Integrated at the heart of AirGO’s infrastructure, it enables the automation of carbon compensation along the booking flow. The SQUAKE solution was customized according to AirGO’s needs and via an API endpoint clients are presented with the option to compensate for their emissions via Sustainable Aviation Fuel within their usual flight booking flow. It can be selected and purchased in a single transaction. Also, a subsequent certificate is issued after the SAF has been put in place.
LEON is a long-standing partner of AirGO and a provider of web-based software which has been implemented in many business units like our flight management and scheduling. A few years ago, together we launched a real-time pricing tool for private jet charter flights. The online quote tool has allowed our clients to conveniently check flight prices online and speed up the booking process. Now, this feature is expanded by the CO2 calculation engine by SQUAKE.
The synergy of tools provided by SQUAKE and LEON allows us to calculate the costs of a private jet charter, the related carbon emissions and the cost to compensate for it in one step and basically real-time. SAF can be chosen across all our distribution channels. For clients directly requesting a flight, B2B partners on Avinode and anyone on our website www.airgo.com
This is a big progress towards a seamless booking of CO2 emission-compensated private jet flights. We believe that by making our sustainable flight options visible and easily accessible to every (potential) customer, awareness and demand for such environmentally friendly options can be boosted.
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 went 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. Allowing Victor clients to easily compare the fuel-efficient Piaggio Avanti with SAF included side-by-side with other more carbon intensive options, should drive better decision-making. This is just a part of a much bigger initiative 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.
Carbon Neutral Air Travel is a central issue that requires the aviation industry to take immediate actions. Worldwide, the aviation industry accounts for 2,4% of all human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. Business aviation operations contribute 0,04% to all man-made emissions.
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