This section looks at concrete examples — what major suppliers and airlines are doing — and lessons learned.

Neste and large-scale offtakes

Neste, a major Aviation Alternative Fuel producer, has been a leader in commercial SAF supply, signing offtake and distribution agreements with large carriers and cargo firms (Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Delta, American Airlines, DHL, UPS and Amazon partnerships are notable). Neste’s commercial SAF product (Neste MY SAF) is produced from waste and residue feedstocks and has helped validate the market for airlines wanting reductions without aircraft modification. The Neste playbook shows the importance of leveraging existing refinery know-how, global logistics networks, and anchor offtakes to commercialize SAF. 

Pertamina — Southeast Asia & waste feedstocks

A recent example of national refinery involvement is Indonesia’s Pertamina, which delivered SAF partially derived from used cooking oil and prepared SAF for domestic flights — an example of regional supply development that uses local waste feedstock and leverages national energy companies to kickstart domestic SAF markets. This demonstrates a model where national refineries and state energy firms convert existing capacity and local feedstocks to SAF to supply regional routes. 

Corporate buyers and cargo commitments

Large corporate shippers (DHL, Amazon, UPS) have signed multi-year SAF purchase agreements that aggregate demand and provide predictable revenue streams for producers. These corporate offtakes show how non-airline demand — especially for cargo and logistics — can create early SAF markets that complement commercial passenger airline procurement.

Lessons from stalled projects

Not every announced project reaches fruition. Reuters’ analysis highlights multiple project failures and delays, emphasising rigorous due diligence: developers must validate feedstock supply chains, secure long-term offtakes, and ensure robust project finance; airlines and corporate buyers must understand pricing risk and offtake commitments. This reality check argues for pragmatic, staged scaling rather than aggressive, unbacked announcements.