How United and Other US Airlines Lost Momentum on Sustainable Jet Fuel
Despite soaring rhetoric, American carriers are far behind their European counterparts in implementing this climate fix.
United Airlines presents itself as the unrivaled leader in cleaner jet fuel. A recent ad campaign featuring the garbage-can-dwelling Oscar the Grouch as the airline’s new “chief trash officer” publicizes its commitment to turn banana peels and old socks into less-polluting jet fuel. In another ad, the company says it’s “investing in more sustainable aviation fuel production than any other airline in the world.”
Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc., like the rest of the aviation industry, is grappling with its enormous climate impact. United expects to burn more than 4 billion gallons of jet fuel this year, which will spout about 40 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—more than double the pollution of all the cars in the company’s home state of Illinois.