United Airlines plans to use a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Heathrow later this year as the London hub joins a growing network of supply points.
The addition of supply at the London hub could put the US airline on track to use about 10 million gallons this year, nearly three times more than 2022 and close to 10 times more than 2019.
United started receiving delivers of SAF in April for flights departing from San Francisco international airport.
SAF blends have been used by the airline at Los Angeles international airport since 2016 and Amsterdam Schiphol since last year .
The SAF at San Francisco and Amsterdam is produced from sustainably sourced, 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste.
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It claims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle, compared to using conventional jet fuel.
SAF could be made in the future from other feedstocks, including household rubbish, forest waste, algae or compressed CO2.
Chief sustainability officer Lauren Riley said: “It’s remarkable to see that in just a few years United has exponentially increased its SAF use.
“While 10 million gallons of SAF in 2023 represents a fraction of what we need, we have also made big investments in producers that are using everything from ethanol to algae, to CO2, to help increase our available future supply.
“We believe these investments, along with our continued collaboration with policymakers, cross-industry businesses and other airlines, will help us scale this brand new industry to achieve comparable success to solar and wind.”
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