Aviation is under pressure to decarbonise, especially in long-haul and premium travel where alternatives like batteries are not viable. The key question is whether a charter operator can realistically operate 100% fossil-free within the next few years.
For Cloudberry Air, the answer depends on scale, fuel access, and smart execution.
Our Flight Plan: 2026–2028
Our projected operations are:
- 2026: 60 flights
- 2027: 180 flights
- 2028: 350 flights
Charter missions vary, but a reasonable planning assumption is around 5,000 liters of jet fuel per flight for mid-size to heavy business jets on typical 3–4 hour routes.
That gives us:
- 2026: ~300,000 liters
- 2027: ~900,000 liters
- 2028: ~1.75 million liters
Even at nearly two million liters in 2028, our total annual demand remains modest compared to industrial fuel production volumes.
How that compares to global supply
New sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and e-fuel plants currently being built around the world often target annual outputs between 50 and several hundred million liters per facility.
Our projected first-year requirement of 300,000 liters represents a very small share of a single plant’s annual output. Even our 2028 projection remains a fraction of industrial-scale production.
This scale works in our favour. We are not trying to decarbonise a global airline network. We are operating a focused charter model with defined and predictable volumes.
Making it work in practice: Book-and-Claim
Sustainable aviation fuel is not yet physically available at every airport. The aviation sector therefore uses a book-and-claim system.
Under this model, sustainable fuel is delivered into the aviation network, and the verified environmental attributes are purchased separately. This ensures that fossil fuel is displaced within the system, even if the physical molecules are not uplifted on a specific aircraft at a specific airport.
For a charter operator, this approach enables full fossil-free accounting while infrastructure continues to expand globally.
Reducing the total fuel we need
Fuel strategy is not only about securing supply. It is also about lowering consumption.
Our model includes:
- Preference for modern, fuel-efficient aircraft
- Route optimisation
- Digital operations
- Pilot optimisation tools with potential reductions of up to 15% in fuel burn
Lower fuel burn reduces both cost and the volume of sustainable fuel required.
Is 100% Fossil-Free realistic?
Based on our projected volumes:
- 300,000 liters in 2026
- 900,000 liters in 2027
- 1.75 million liters in 2028
and the rapid expansion of global SAF and e-fuel production, a fully fossil-free operation within two to three years is a realistic objective.
The fuel exists. Production is scaling. Market mechanisms for allocation and verification are in place. Our operational footprint remains compact and controlled.
For a company of our size, the pathway to 100% fossil-free flight is measurable and achievable.
The next step is disciplined execution.