Cebu Pacific anticipates a decrease in the cost of ‘green’ fuel as more suppliers increase their production.

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

The need for environmentally friendly aviation fuel (SAF) is predicted to increase in the future as it becomes more affordable with the expansion of production by fuel companies, according to Cebu Pacific.fic Air official said.

Alex B. Reyes, chief strategy officer of Cebu Pacifi

According to sources, the industry is still optimistic about using SAF, but prices are currently high due to limited SAF production.

“As investment increases and technology is implemented, the operation will expand, resulting in lower prices over time,” stated Mr. Reyes during a press conference at the 2023 Aviation Summit in Pasay City.

SAF can decrease air transportation emissions and is produced from non-petroleum sources such as agricultural waste and recycled vegetable oil.

“We are seeing high prices today because actual production is tiny and most of the plants built are small scale, eventually it will come down, overtime. It takes you three to fi

“We will need five years to construct an SAF plant…so it will be some time before the increased scale affects pricing,” he stated.

The DoE has expressed its intention to create guidelines for SAF in order to speed up its implementation in the industry.

“Progress is being made in the right direction. Ideally, we would like to see a significant increase in engagement from the Department of Energy and all stakeholders involved. The supply chain is complex and requires collaboration from all parties.”

According to Mr. Reyes, the airline has set a goal to increase the use of SAF in their regular operations in the near future. He also mentioned that the majority of the company’s flights have already been powered by a mixture of SAF this year.

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The goal for SAF blends to reach by a specific year.

According to Mr. Reyes, while other airlines have implemented this practice, our situation in the Philippines is unique. The production of SAF industries is more advanced in the US and Europe, unlike in the Philippines where there are currently no facilities for producing SAF.

Mr. Reyes suggested providing incentives to airlines to increase their use of SAF instead of implementing a minimum SAF blend requirement as is common practice in other countries.

We believe that instead of enforcing it, we should create policies and incentives to encourage a market response. It is important for producers to take the lead in this rather than being mandated. The pro industry is unparalleled in its effectiveness.fi

According to Mr. Reyes, there is a motivation to drive such growth and investments.