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.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Alaska Airlines and Microsoft have entered into an arrangement that will see the Seattle-area software maker cover the CO2 emissions of its employee commercial travel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credits purchased from SAF provider SkyNRG. The deal makes Microsoft one of the first companies to directly purchase SAF for such a purpose.

 


“We are excited to partner with Alaska Airlines to make business air travel a little greener by using [SAF] supplied by SkyNRG to reduce the carbon impact of the flights Microsoft employees fly most,” said Judson Althoff, executive v-p of Microsoft’s worldwide commercial business, which has aspirations to be carbon negative by 2030. “We hope this [SAF] model will be used by other companies as a way to reduce the environmental impact of their business travel.”

 


Microsoft has also joined <a href="https://boardnow.org/">Board Now</a>, a coalition of companies whose aim is to accelerate the transition to sustainable air travel. Those organizations commit to reducing their carbon emissions generated by flying and contribute to the development of new SAF production capacity.

 


This latest agreement applies to Microsoft’s most frequent travel on Alaska Airlines routes between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and San Francisco International and Los Angeles International Airports. While it is unclear exactly what sort of commitment this represents in terms of volume (AIN’s inquiries to the companies were not answered by press time), the fuel purchased by Microsoft will be delivered by SkyNRG directly into Alaska Airlines’ fueling system.

 


“After a decade advancing [SAF], this partnership marks a significant milestone in the work to make SAF a commercially-viable aviation fuel alternative,” noted Brad Tilden, the airline’s CEO. “SAF enables us to fly cleaner and reduce our impact on the environment,”&nbsp;adding “we cannot do this alone, we must work together with other industries&nbsp;and business leaders like Microsoft and SkyNRG among others who are thinking big, to achieve our goals and grow the marketplace for SAF.”

 


In other SAF news, ANA has inked an agreement with Neste which represents the European fuel provider’s first supply of SAF to an Asian airline and will make ANA the first airline to use the renewable fuel blend on flights departing Japan.

 


“ANA takes pride in its leadership role and has been recognized as an industry leader in sustainability,” said Yutaka Ito, the airline’s executive v-p for procurement, adding that, despite the impact of the global Covid pandemic, the company remains committed to its green efforts. “We recognize preserving our environment requires that humanity work together to achieve a common goal, and we are proud to be doing our part to protect our shared home.”

 


Initial operations will begin this week with SAF-fueled flights from Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda International Airports. The delivery of the fuel was made possible through coordination between Neste and Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. The companies plan to extend the deal beyond 2023 with a multi-year agreement. Neste currently produces 100,000 tons of SAF a year. With the planned expansion of its facilities in Singapore and Rotterdam, that could increase to 1.5 million tons a year by 2023.

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

New Airline Agreements Keep the SAF Flowing

ANA and Alaska Airlines are among the latest to announce sustainable aviation fuel-related deals.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

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.

Manufacturer says solar power is part of efforts to reduce environmental footprint 

Solar Panels Now Power Gulfstream’s Mesa Service Center

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News about commercial airlines, including regulations, aircraft orders, safety, acquisitions, and mergers.

Green Flyways initiative is considering the potential for MD Aircraft's eViator commuter

Partners Trial Electric Air Services in Norway and Sweden

Charlotte Bailey

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

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.

UK’s ‘Operation Blue Skies’ to redirect commercial traffic in Shanwick airspace

North Atlantic Airspace-Scale Contrail Trial Underway

Emissions reduction indexes will help contrast economics with compliance mandates

Argus Releases Sustainable Aviation Fuel Evaluation Tool

Government-funded consortium to aims to connect remote communities 

Project SEAN Trials Electric Flights For Scotland

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

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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.

Shift could come as the state's tax incentives change

Louisiana Could Supplant California as SAF Leader

New three-year campaign will design, build, and fly wing extension devices

WoT? Experimental Elongated Airbus Wings To Fly Next Year

Cristofer Slotoroff

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

More In Sustainability and Environment