Lufthansa City Center globally pioneer a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) offer to corporate customers

Frankfurt, 8 July 2022: Lufthansa City Center is the first global TMC to distribute Sustainable Aviation Fuel for the Lufthansa Group. Companies can thus significantly improve their CO2 balance and make a substantial contribution to the energy transition.

All corporate customers of international Lufthansa City Center (LCC) agencies can effectively reduce their carbon footprint in the future when booking business travel. LCC is the first TMC ever to offer so-called SAF packages from Lufthansa Group – in Germany and also abroad, in any of the 85 markets LCC is located in. SAF stands for "Sustainable Aviation Fuel" and is the generic term for all aviation fuels that are produced without the use of fossil energy sources.

Interested companies book an SAF package with LCC for future business trips, which must have a total value of at least 2,000 euros (equivalent to 1,330 litres of SAF).  In return, customers receive an official CO2 mitigation certificate to deduct SCOPE 3 emission for their ecological balance reporting. This certificate is issued by the global engineering office of Müller-BBM located in Planegg close to Munich and accepted by all local governments to claim a corporate's carbon footprint and mitigate CO2. Lufthansa Group refuels its aircrafts at the hubs with the amount of sustainable kerosene ordered by the companies and guarantees its use within a period of twelve months after package purchase. The climate-friendly kerosene is used in the aircraft of Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines or Eurowings.

"Accompanying and guiding our corporate customers world-wide on their road to green corporate travel is our mission. Integrating the purchase of SAF into our product range and service offer is thus a logical step and of elementary importance for continuous CO2 reduction in air travel," says Lufthansa City Center International (LCCI) Managing Director Martina Groenegres.

Climate-friendly tickets come at a price.  The SAF price differs depending on the compartments used, as it is calculated based on the space a passenger needs on an airplane. Two samples:  The CO2-saving SAF ticket from London to Frankfurt in Economy Class is 112 Euro more expensive than the regular ticket on normal fossil kerosene.  A SAF ticket from New York to Frankfurt in Business Class adds a 1.066 Euro surcharge to the regular ticket price for using SAF. This price difference results from high production costs. One litre SAF is 3.6 times more expensive than normal fossil kerosene. However, the positive impact on the environment is tremendous: Those who book a SAF package of 2.000 Euro with Lufthansa City Center, contributes to Lufthansa Group Airlines refuelling up to 1.330 litres of climate-friendly SAF, which equals more than 3 tons of CO2 saved for our planet.

"There is one big advantage: This change does not happen all at one, but every little step counts. Our customers can flexibly and gradually integrate SAF into their green travel policy. They can individually choose the percentage of offset for each particular flight route with SAF, depending on the invest they are ready to make and the impact they are looking for. Step by step from CO2 reduction to C02 neutral flying”, continues Martina Groenegres. “Pioneering SAF with LHG and being the frontrunner in the global travel arena is for us of utmost importance. Even the smallest change creates an impact, and we want to ensure that our customers have all the choices at hand to positively guide them along their energy transition” closes Martina Groenegres.

There are various production processes with different resources and ingredients used for sustainable aviation fuels.  Lufthansa Group applies SAF made from biogenic residues, for example from used cooking oils and industrial waste materials, which are hydrogenated and then refined like fossil fuels. Germany's largest airline has secured sustainable kerosene for a quarter of a billion US dollars in order to be able to meet the expected demand in the coming years. The amount currently available on the world market, however, is not sufficient to use large quantities in flight operations. Lufthansa Group is therefore active in numerous projects to advance the availability of SAF. #MakeChangeFly.

About Lufthansa City Center:

Lufthansa City Center (LCC) is the world's largest independent franchise company in the travel agency market with 500 offices in 90 countries and a total turnover of 5,43 billion Euros (business year 2019). LCC is active in the leisure (tourism) and corporate (business travel) sectors. The chain of owner-managed medium-sized travel agencies includes 270 offices with around 2,000 employees in Germany. Outside of its home market Germany (which is operated by the German franchisor Lufthansa City Center Reisebüropartner GmbH), the travel agency network employs around 2,300 people in 230 offices. Responsible for all world-wide agencies is Lufthansa City Center International GmbH, the international franchisor located in Frankfurt/Germany. Lufthansa City Center offer a global programme with local relevance to nurture the cultural differences and dynamics required in each market. A global presence with local capabilities ensures the best opportunity for delivering exceptional customer service. Further information is available at lufthansa-city-center.com/en.