Raya Airways Taps into Sustainable Aviation Fuel for Carbon Reductions through DHL Express

Dec. 11, 2023
The Raya Airways Fuel Uplift Program ensures that fuel uplift meets their flight plan requirements, to eliminate unnecessary variations and reduce costs and CO2 emissions.

Raya Airways, a leading freighter operator based in Malaysia, today announced its participation in DHL Express’ GoGreen Plus service for the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) towards decarbonization targets. This enables Raya Airways to reduce the carbon emissions associated with its time-definite international shipments by 30 percent.

“At Raya Airways, we believe in thinking holistically about the environmental footprint of our business.  Moving carbon-intensive sectors like aviation towards clean operations is vital to actualizing a net-zero  future. Together with DHL Express, that change can start with us as we help expand the market for wider adoption of SAF,” said Mohamad Najib bin Ishak, group managing director of Raya Airways.

Launched in February this year, GoGreen Plus allows customers to effectively inset the Scope 3 emissions in their supply chain by choosing their SAF commitment. The selected amount is then blended with conventional jet fuel at the point of air transport to lower the release of CO2e and other greenhouse gases. SAF is currently the only scalable solution for the next years to come, given that it is the sole option for long-distance flights. Made from sustainably-sourced renewable waste and residue raw materials, SAF can also cut the lifecycle emissions of typical aviation fuel by up to 80 percent.

Raya Airways is making remarkable strides in its dedication to climate neutrality through adopting GoGreen Plus. The ongoing focus on fuel optimization aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions across the company's aircraft fleet. The Raya Airways Fuel Uplift Program ensures that fuel uplift meets their flight plan requirements, to eliminate unnecessary variations and reduce costs and CO2 emissions. Raya Airways maintains an unwavering commitment to a safe and compliant fuel policy.

This has resulted in a significant decrease in the average percentage of flights requiring additional fuel,  from 25 percent to just one percent between June 2022 and June 2023.

“It is through partnerships like this that we can accelerate the transition to carbon-free aviation by scaling the supply and use of SAF,” said Julian Neo, managing director of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei. “We commend Raya Airways for taking the leap and hopefully, we can motivate more industry players to tread a similar path. DHL Express will continue to proactively provide accessible means to green innovations for the communities we serve.”

DHL Group is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and is investing a total of EUR 7 billion in carbon emission reduction initiatives. With approximately 90 percent of its carbon footprint derived from the air network, viable and sustainable air transport solutions are important for creating cleaner logistics. This includes two of the largest ever deals with bp and Neste, who will supply DHL with more than 800 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel until 2026. This contributes to the interim target of using 30 percent SAF for all air transport by 2030. Equally, DHL Express has also partnered with Eviation, who will deliver up to 12 electric cargo planes from 2027 onwards.