With ever-present concerns over the ongoing climate crisis, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been slowly but steadily transitioning their business model to meet sustainability goals.
This falls in line with the target set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the entire aviation industry to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.
SIA and its subsidiary Scoot are already among 81 airlines committed to increasing the use of SAFs in their flights. As of May 2025, SIA had signed new agreements with Singapore-based refineries owned by the Neste Corporation for the production and acquisition of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
Acquiring SAFs
SAFs are essentially a source of renewable jet fuel that is synthesised from biomass and other renewable energy sources.
SAFs have been a major talking point in the transition towards sustainability due to their low levels of carbon emissions. The US Department of Energy predicts SAFs could reduce carbon emissions as much as 94%.
However, SAFs face significant challenges towards being universally adopted by airlines. While the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects SAF production to double to two million tonnes in 2025, this is still a minuscule 0.7% of total fuel consumption by airlines.
This small proportion only exacerbates the second problem of SAFs being far more expensive for airlines to transition to. Combined with current difficulties facing the industry, such as delays in deliveries from major aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, it appears that the industry is yearning for a stable status quo more so than ever before.
Furthermore, the IATA has called on governments to rethink the use of mandates to enforce SAF adoption, as the trade organisation estimated this has only made the adoption of SAFs five times more costly than conventional jet fuel.
Wider Changes in the Aviation Industry
It also should be noted that sustainability and environmental concerns have not been the only significant pressures for innovation in the aviation industry.
Artificial intelligence is being rapidly deployed by different airlines to enhance both operational efficiency and passenger experience. Keeping up with its competitors, Singapore Airlines is also investing heavily in AI.
As recently as April 2025, Singapore Airlines announced a partnership with OpenAI in a landmark collaboration between OpenAI and a major airline carrier to develop an advanced generative AI for flights.
Ultimately, both environmental concerns and AI are not trends exclusive to the aviation industry, but affect nearly every industry in the world today. As such, it is worthwhile for business to reexamine their current progress in transitioning towards a new working model that incorporates these trends, and transform them into opportunities for growth.
