A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

A recent report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests that the growth in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production did not meet previous estimates in 2024.
While worldwide SAF production last year reached 1 million tonnes—0.3% of global jet fuel produced, and double the amount manufactured in 2023—that total was significantly below <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2024-06-05/iata-industry-track-triple-saf-output-2024">estimates</a> that pegged 2024 volumes at 1.5 million metric tons.
IATA noted that key SAF plants in the U.S. have pushed back their production ramp-ups to the first half of this year, with total global output expected to exceed 2 million tonnes or 0.7% of total jet fuel production.
That stands in contrast to an <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2024-09-11/us-meet-sustainable-aviation-fuel-challenge">assessment</a> made last year by Alejandro Moreno, an official with the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency. Speaking at the North American SAF Conference and Expo in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in September, he noted that three years after the Biden Administration issued its <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-09-10/white-house-rolls-out-initiatives-boost-saf">SAF Grand Challenge</a> to the U.S. fuel industry to reach a goal of three billion gallons of neat SAF production a year by 2030, the industry is stepping up.
“When we initially set it, there was a lot of discussions about whether that was too ambitious,”&nbsp;Moreno said. “We are now on track at the low end to meet it and even exceed it.”
There are now 11 certified pathways to manufacture SAF, but HEFA—derived from used cooking oils and fats—will account for 80% of the SAF volume over the next half-decade. IATA believes production could be enhanced by investment in the other pathways.
“SAF volumes are increasing, but disappointingly slowly,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “Governments are sending mixed signals to oil companies, which continue to receive subsidies for their exploration and production of fossil oil and gas.” He added that investors in new-generation fuel producers seem to be waiting for “guarantees of easy money before going full throttle.”
By its calculations, to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, IATA sees a need for between 3,000 and 6,500 new renewable fuel plants globally, with an annual average capital expenditure of $128 billion.
“Governments must quickly deliver concrete policy incentives to rapidly accelerate renewable energy production,” stated Walsh. “The good news is that the energy transition, which includes SAF, will need less than half the annual investments that realizing wind and solar production at scale required.”

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Update to Destination 2050 Net Zero report includes new policy demands for European Commission

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News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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