United has revealed that it will begin using a blend of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on departing flights from San Francisco International Airport and is planning to use a SAF blend later this year at London Heathrow Airport, which could put the airline on track to use approximately 10 million gallons in 2023, nearly three times more than 2022 and close to 10 times more than 2019.

“It’s remarkable to see that in just a few years United has exponentially increased its SAF use,” said United Chief Sustainability Officer Lauren Riley.

“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.”

To date, United has invested in the future production of over five billion gallons of SAF – more than any airline – and as a result of the latest announcement, the carrier will fly more miles in 2023 than any airline.

United has used SAF blends at Los Angeles International Airport since 2016 and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam since 2022 and continues to use SAF at those airports in 2023.

The SAF deliveries commenced at San Francisco Airport in April, with United receiving 1.5 million gallons of SAF for departing flights, the remainder of United’s SAF supply will be used at Los Angeles International Airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

London Heathrow Airport is expected to begin receiving deliveries of SAF later in 2023. Once the SAF is delivered to London Heathrow, it will mark the first time United would participate in London Heathrow’s SAF incentive program.