Jakarta. Airbus is offering Indonesian airlines a new generation of aircraft that can fly with the so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to significantly reduce emissions and save fuel consumption.

Airbus President Asia-Pacific Anand Stanley, who visited Jakarta on Wednesday, said the country has seen a strong rebound in demand for air travel over the past year, leading airlines to bring stored aircraft back into their fleets and to seek additional capacity.

The challenge is how to meet the growing demand in the civilian aviation industry in a sustainable way.

Stanley said the first solution is the renewal of older generation fleets with the latest, more fuel-efficient aircraft, which brings an immediate reduction in carbon emissions of around 25 percent that can be achieved with the increased use of SAF.

“The aircraft we produce today are already capable of flying with an up to 50 percent SAF blend and we aim to increase this to 100 percent by 2030. But for airlines to take full advantage of this, we need viable industrial systems to produce and commercialize these energy sources near key hubs around the world,” Stanley said in a statement.

In addition, Airbus is working on aircraft that may be powered by new energy sources such as hydrogen or synthetic fuels.

“We are working on three concepts for aircraft between 100 and 200 seats that could be powered by hydrogen, which would have almost zero emissions. Such an aircraft could meet requirements for shorter domestic routes in Indonesia,” he said

“It’s clear airlines and aircraft manufacturers are not in the business of energy production. But we can and should act as the catalysts for the profound changes that are required,” he added.

According to the Airbus website, SAF is an approved fuel for aviation that is a blend of up to 50 percent synthetic components made from waste products and kerosene. The synthetic component produces an average of 80 percent fewer carbon emissions over its life cycle than conventional jet fuel.

Stanley was in Jakarta to participate in the Indonesia Sustainability Forum 2023, where he took part in a panel with State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, state-run oil company Pertamina CEO Nicke Widyawati, and Malaysian Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.