You Can Reduce SAF Costs Through Smarter Blending Points

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is widely recognised as a critical lever for reducing aviation’s carbon footprint. Yet, one challenge continues to dominate conversations across the industry: cost. In 2023, the World Economic Forum reported that SAF costs three to five times more than conventional Jet A1 fuel [1]. Two years later, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) approximated SAF to be 4.2 times more expensive than conventional fuel, driven partly by additional compliance-related costs in Europe under the ReFuelEU mandate [2]. While policies play a major role in shaping long-term price trends, there are also operational decisions within your control that can influence what you ultimately pay for SAF. 

The Overlooked Cost Driver: Blending Point 

Today, SAF is typically blended upstream at refineries or terminals before being transported to the airport. Once blended with Jet A1, the entire blended volume is transported to the point of use either via trucks or pipeline. This means the Jet A1 portion, fuel that is already widely available and stored at airports, travels the same route as the SAF portion. Every additional handling, storage, and transport step adds to the landed cost. Hence, it is important to optimise the blending points so that the whole supply chain can operate more efficiently and cost effectively.  

Last-mile blending offers an alternative. Instead of transporting the full blended volume, only neat SAF is moved to the airport or a nearby terminal. There, it’s blended with Jet A1 already in local storage. By blending closer to the point of use, operators can: 

• Reduce the total fuel volume moved over long distances. 

• Minimise duplicate logistics and storage requirements in the supply chain. 

• Adjust blend ratios in response to demand, operational needs or market prices. 

This approach complements existing SAF supply arrangements, where operators can obtain more value from each litre purchased. 

Figure 1. Higher logistics costs for pre-blended SAF compared to last-mile SAF.

Using a 40% blend scenario, pre-blended logistics means having to account for fuel transport and storage to both the SBC and Jet-A1 volume. On the other hand, last-mile blending applies those costs to just the 40% SBC portion (Figure 1).

Even with the same fuel prices, this smaller chargeable volume can translate into meaningful cost differences over time, especially for operators procuring large volumes (Figure 2). 

Figure 2. Price comparison of SAF blended upstream and downstream over 6 months. (Note: actual prices and logistics costs vary by location and market conditions.) 

Why This Matters Now 

As SAF adoption grows, so will scrutiny on cost efficiency. For many operators, rethinking the blending point is a practical, low-disruption way to reduce landed costs without compromising quality, performance, or compliance. Furthermore, aligning blending strategies with existing infrastructure enables the industry to collaborate to make SAF adoption more financially sustainable, thus accelerating the path to wider adoption. 

Read More: The Largest Gap in Aviation is Not Just SAF Supply, but Blending Capabilities  

References 

[1] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/12/airlines-sustainable-aviation-fuel-carbon-targets/ 

[2] https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-releases/2025-06-02-01/ 

About FlyORO

FlyORO provides the world's first revolutionary, modular, on-demand blending service of SAF and jet fuel to enable aviation on its emissions reduction journey. As an enabler to the SAF supply chain, FlyORO enable flyers the flexibility to align their ESG targets per flight rather than be succumbed to fixed blend ratios and bulk commitments upfront. With a small form factor of 40ft, it is space efficient and portable and can be installed anywhere at or off airport base. This solution allows airport fuel operators to serve flyers more effectively with a simplified supply chain.