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Toby Edwards, Co-CEO of Abu Dhabi’s first on-demand jet charter company, on leading climate action in the industry.
13 NOVEMBER 2024
475
BUSINESS
Through industry-leading climate initiatives, on-demand jet charter company Victor is setting itself apart in the private aviation industry, a notoriously opaque and conservative sector. The company’s innovative efforts to lower the carbon footprint of its members is also benefitting the wider sustainability goals of the UAE.
How does sustainability align with your strategy?
I don't think you can be a business today and survive the next 20-30 years without a purpose-led mission. Ours is “a better way to fly,” and a big part of that is addressing the ongoing climate crisis. Having a credible climate action strategy is integral for us to continue to grow without taking for granted the impact our industry has on the planet.
We charter thousands of aircraft every year through our offices in London, Washington and Abu Dhabi, but we’re a broker and because we don't own the aircraft, we need to be creative about how we implement climate action. For several years, we bought carbon credits, and even introduced the first complimentary 200% offset program – paid for on behalf of our customers with our own profits. But in 2022, we decided to take a different route, and we began enabling our customers to voluntarily purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to lower the lifecycle carbon emissions of their bookings. Over the last two years we’ve proven that this model works, and one in five of our clients voluntarily chooses to purchase SAF. They can also choose the most fuel-efficient aircraft they want to fly on, because we disclose this in our quotes prior to the booking stage.
What do you see as the most important opportunity to focus on in the sustainability space?
The personal choices we can make to lower our carbon footprint around diet, clothing, ground travel, etc. become almost insignificant the moment we step on a plane because of the scale of the emissions. So, if you’re flying, and you’re conscious about your carbon footprint, how can you mitigate it?
The average amount our customers spend on SAF is £973 per booking (AED4,543), and we’ve had over 510 private jet bookings that included a SAF purchase over the last two years. We're proud of that, but it's really the tip of the iceberg. I think these results show that a significant cohort of flyers demand more responsible ways to travel and want to decarbonize their flights if given the opportunity to do so.
A business aviation flight booked with Victor
If we can get more people today to voluntarily purchase SAF, it shows governments and multinationals that there is demand and gives them the confidence to invest in building bigger SAF plants, faster. The knock-on impact of that is new jobs, and with e-SAF – an even more sustainable fuel – a whole new industry can develop with huge benefits for the economy. This is the kind of revolution we need to get to net zero.
How are you involving stakeholders in your sustainability efforts?
To give our customers the option to purchase SAF, we launched a pioneering partnership with Neste, the world’s leading sustainable aviation fuel producer. Our SAF offering is very visible at the start of the customer journey, and each client’s dedicated account manager makes them aware of the opportunity to purchase SAF and reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of their booking by up to 80%.
A commercial airliner being prepped for fueling with Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel
I am also heavily involved with a major European initiative – Project SkyPower – which is bringing together industry stakeholders to make e-SAF commercially viable, so we can offer it to our customers as soon as possible. Led by 14 industry CEOs and powered by the dedication and technical expertise of over 50 companies from across the e-SAF ecosystem, the project’s objective is to pave the way for first-of-a-kind e-SAF plants in Europe to reach final investment decision by the end of 2025 and become operational by 2030 to support sector emissions reduction targets. Project Skypower just published a new report laying out an action plan for this.
How are you fostering innovation in sustainability?
Business aviation historically receives very little recognition for the innovations it has provided to the wider market. It was a Gulfstream business jet aircraft that flew the first transatlantic flight using 100% SAF, for example, and a Learjet that first used a winglet design to reduce drag and improve an aircraft’s fuel efficiency. Our partnership with Neste uses a unique “pay here, use there” solution, meaning that the SAF doesn’t need to go into the actual aircraft our customers are flying on (which would negate the carbon emission reduction potential). Instead, it goes into one of Neste’s commercial partner airlines at airports near where Neste makes SAF in Finland and the Netherlands.
Victor customers spend £973 per flight (AED4,543) on average to use sustainable aviation fuel
Our climate action initiatives stand out in our industry, and we have won business because of them, which was a point of appeal for our acquirers in Abu Dhabi. But it has also helped us attract emerging talent to join our organization. If you want to attract the best talent today, you've got to have credible climate action initiatives, or you will be left behind. I think some brands already are behind. The braver you are and the more transparent you are about what you're doing in climate action, the better.
In what other areas do you see sustainability-related opportunities?
One of the major benefits of SAF and e-SAF is that they can be used in the planes we're using today, which will likely be flying for another 30 years. We need multiple solutions simultaneously, including electric and hydrogen planes, but these drop-in fuels are a clear priority for aviation in the near term. e-SAF is particularly important because there are crucial feedstock limitations for SAF, which is made from things like waste oils from cooking.
The challenge is that for e-SAF to become commercially viable, enormous collaboration and investment is required to produce the amount of renewable energy that goes into making it. Which is why Victor is involved in Project Skypower. No individual business can do this alone. One of my inputs for this collaboration is involving the Middle East, which is crucial due to its abundance of sunshine for renewable energy and for the long-term, multi-stakeholder thinking that occurs in the Middle East – essential for scaling up as quickly as possible.
I also think the commercial aviation industry could follow our “pay here, use there” blueprint and explore voluntary SAF purchasing. If our customers are voluntarily choosing to purchase SAF, they would presumably also choose to buy SAF when flying commercial, and so might many other people.
Business aviation also has access to influential clients, from CEOs and ministers to sports teams, musicians and celebrities. The opportunity for them to inspire others and make more people aware of SAF could have a huge positive effect on the wider travel sector.
How does sustainability align with your strategy?
I don't think you can be a business today and survive the next 20-30 years without a purpose-led mission. Ours is “a better way to fly,” and a big part of that is addressing the ongoing climate crisis. Having a credible climate action strategy is integral for us to continue to grow without taking for granted the impact our industry has on the planet.
We charter thousands of aircraft every year through our offices in London, Washington and Abu Dhabi, but we’re a broker and because we don't own the aircraft, we need to be creative about how we implement climate action. For several years, we bought carbon credits, and even introduced the first complimentary 200% offset program – paid for on behalf of our customers with our own profits. But in 2022, we decided to take a different route, and we began enabling our customers to voluntarily purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to lower the lifecycle carbon emissions of their bookings. Over the last two years we’ve proven that this model works, and one in five of our clients voluntarily chooses to purchase SAF. They can also choose the most fuel-efficient aircraft they want to fly on, because we disclose this in our quotes prior to the booking stage.
What do you see as the most important opportunity to focus on in the sustainability space?
The personal choices we can make to lower our carbon footprint around diet, clothing, ground travel, etc. become almost insignificant the moment we step on a plane because of the scale of the emissions. So, if you’re flying, and you’re conscious about your carbon footprint, how can you mitigate it?
The average amount our customers spend on SAF is £973 per booking (AED4,543), and we’ve had over 510 private jet bookings that included a SAF purchase over the last two years. We're proud of that, but it's really the tip of the iceberg. I think these results show that a significant cohort of flyers demand more responsible ways to travel and want to decarbonize their flights if given the opportunity to do so.
A business aviation flight booked with Victor
If we can get more people today to voluntarily purchase SAF, it shows governments and multinationals that there is demand and gives them the confidence to invest in building bigger SAF plants, faster. The knock-on impact of that is new jobs, and with e-SAF – an even more sustainable fuel – a whole new industry can develop with huge benefits for the economy. This is the kind of revolution we need to get to net zero.
How are you involving stakeholders in your sustainability efforts?
To give our customers the option to purchase SAF, we launched a pioneering partnership with Neste, the world’s leading sustainable aviation fuel producer. Our SAF offering is very visible at the start of the customer journey, and each client’s dedicated account manager makes them aware of the opportunity to purchase SAF and reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of their booking by up to 80%.
A commercial airliner being prepped for fueling with Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel
I am also heavily involved with a major European initiative – Project SkyPower – which is bringing together industry stakeholders to make e-SAF commercially viable, so we can offer it to our customers as soon as possible. Led by 14 industry CEOs and powered by the dedication and technical expertise of over 50 companies from across the e-SAF ecosystem, the project’s objective is to pave the way for first-of-a-kind e-SAF plants in Europe to reach final investment decision by the end of 2025 and become operational by 2030 to support sector emissions reduction targets. Project Skypower just published a new report laying out an action plan for this.
How are you fostering innovation in sustainability?
Business aviation historically receives very little recognition for the innovations it has provided to the wider market. It was a Gulfstream business jet aircraft that flew the first transatlantic flight using 100% SAF, for example, and a Learjet that first used a winglet design to reduce drag and improve an aircraft’s fuel efficiency. Our partnership with Neste uses a unique “pay here, use there” solution, meaning that the SAF doesn’t need to go into the actual aircraft our customers are flying on (which would negate the carbon emission reduction potential). Instead, it goes into one of Neste’s commercial partner airlines at airports near where Neste makes SAF in Finland and the Netherlands.
Victor customers spend £973 per flight (AED4,543) on average to use sustainable aviation fuel
Our climate action initiatives stand out in our industry, and we have won business because of them, which was a point of appeal for our acquirers in Abu Dhabi. But it has also helped us attract emerging talent to join our organization. If you want to attract the best talent today, you've got to have credible climate action initiatives, or you will be left behind. I think some brands already are behind. The braver you are and the more transparent you are about what you're doing in climate action, the better.
In what other areas do you see sustainability-related opportunities?
One of the major benefits of SAF and e-SAF is that they can be used in the planes we're using today, which will likely be flying for another 30 years. We need multiple solutions simultaneously, including electric and hydrogen planes, but these drop-in fuels are a clear priority for aviation in the near term. e-SAF is particularly important because there are crucial feedstock limitations for SAF, which is made from things like waste oils from cooking.
The challenge is that for e-SAF to become commercially viable, enormous collaboration and investment is required to produce the amount of renewable energy that goes into making it. Which is why Victor is involved in Project Skypower. No individual business can do this alone. One of my inputs for this collaboration is involving the Middle East, which is crucial due to its abundance of sunshine for renewable energy and for the long-term, multi-stakeholder thinking that occurs in the Middle East – essential for scaling up as quickly as possible.
I also think the commercial aviation industry could follow our “pay here, use there” blueprint and explore voluntary SAF purchasing. If our customers are voluntarily choosing to purchase SAF, they would presumably also choose to buy SAF when flying commercial, and so might many other people.
Business aviation also has access to influential clients, from CEOs and ministers to sports teams, musicians and celebrities. The opportunity for them to inspire others and make more people aware of SAF could have a huge positive effect on the wider travel sector.