Delta Air Lines Signs Five-Year SAF Contract With Shell

Delta Air Lines signed a five-year contract with Shell Aviation for the delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at multiple airports.

Shell will deliver at least 15 million gal. of SAF to the airline in 2026 and the carrier “retains options to scale each year of the contract term as the market develops,” a Delta spokesperson told Aviation Week. The contract runs through 2030.

Delta said the agreement builds “on decades of collaboration on conventional jet fuel with Shell.”

Shell will source the SAF from multiple producers, including Montana Renewables and Diamond Green Diesel. “The benefit of working with a market scaler like Shell is that they can aggregate volume and resolve for logistics across multiple supply chains, creating earlier efficiencies in the developing market,” the Delta spokesperson said.

Airports where Shell will supply SAF to Delta include Boston Logan, Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York John F. Kennedy and Portland, Oregon.

The initial supply of SAF delivered under the contract will be made using fatty acids, waste and residue feedstocks.

According to the airline, the agreement with Shell goes beyond fuel delivery to include collaboration that “focuses on how fuel reaches aircraft ... [to] establish the logistics, blending and distribution capabilities required for dependable supply across Delta’s network.”

The spokesperson said the carrier “is most keen on co-developing a SAF market [with Shell] that enables technology advancement and continued growth in demand.”

The airline said the agreement will help Delta integrate “SAF into routine airline operations, not a one-off milestone.” The carrier did not say how many flights would utilize SAF delivered by Shell.

“Fuel consumption varies significantly by aircraft type, route distance and load factors, so it is not possible to attribute the fuel to specific flights,” the spokesperson said.

Under a prior agreement, Delta received SAF from Shell produced by Montana Renewables at LAX. Shell also has delivered SAF produced by Montana Renewables to Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways at LAX.

In collaboration with Neste, Shell has delivered SAF to Cebu Pacific and Japan Airlines at Singapore Changi Airport, as well as to Cathay Pacific at Hong Kong International Airport.