Taiwan’s airlines progress toward industry’s net zero emissions target

by TOMASZ SNIEDZIEWSKI IN TAIWAN  

June 1st 2023

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As Taiwan’s airlines deal with rebuilding their operations post pandemic, they also are advancing their pursuit of net zero emissions by 2050. Read More »

On May 22, coinciding with International Day for Biological Diversity, Taiwan’s flag carrier, China Airlines, operated its second “Sustainability Demonstration Flight”, between Taipei and Singapore, as a participant in SkyTeam’s second The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC).

The demonstration flight was CAL’s first passenger flight flown with jet fuel blended with 10% of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). CAL introduced SAF to its flight operations in 2017 aboard A350-900 and A321neo ferry flights. This time around, the A350-900 passenger flight, which also carried cargo, used an ECO Travel program to achieve carbon neutrality for the demonstrations flights.

For many passengers, the main attraction of the CAL flights was the option to pre-order the low-carbon plant-based meals created by China Airlines and the Michelin Star Yang Ming Spring restaurant on the leg out of Taipei. The SkyTeam carrier said interest in the plant-based meals was ten times higher than on regular flights. More than half of all passengers onboard opted for the low-carbon menu, setting new records in all cabin classes.

The demonstration flights were equipped with blankets and pillow and headrest covers manufactured from PET bottles and tablecloths produced with recycled coffee grounds. Overall, the Sustainability Demonstration Flight used up to one hundred eco-friendly and carbon reduction initiatives.

Environmental values also are part of the ethos of Taiwan’s EVA Airways. On May 5, the Star Alliance carrier took delivery of its eighth 787-10 at Boeing’s Charleston, South Carolina facility. The 17- hour ferry flight to Taiwan was EVA’s first SAF operation. The 30% proportion of SAF in the fuel blend also was the largest quantity of sustainable fuel ever used in Taiwan’s aviation industry.

Like the rest of the world, Taiwan’s airlines face limitations in access to SAF supply. Taiwan intends to follow Japan and Singapore and manufacture SAF.