A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Signature Flight Support has used the platform of NBAA's annual convention in Las Vegas to launch its new Signature Renew book-and-claim program, which will give its customers the opportunity to purchase sustainable aviation fuel credits (SAF) even in locations where the fuel isn't physically available.

 


Operating the industry's largest FBO network, with more than 200 locations worldwide, Signature&nbsp;(Booths 3536, 3913) now currently has SAF permanently available at seven&nbsp;facilities, mainly in the western U.S. near the fuel's production centers. Through book-and-claim, operators can purchase a corresponding reduction in CO2 for any flight, at any airport, using any FBO, even those outside the Signature network. While the actual fuel is dispensed at one of the locations that stocks SAF, and is consumed by an entirely different airplane, hundreds, or even thousands of miles away, the book-and-claim user will receive the carbon credits for the use of the fuel, for use in any environmental reporting program. Strict accounting measures in place prevent double counting and ensure proper attribution of the benefits.

 


"The launch of Signature Renew's book-and-claim program further demonstrates Signature's commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050," said Tony Lefebvre, the flight support provider’s interim CEO. "Book-and-claim will accelerate the adoption of SAF by providing an alternative mechanism to unlock the carbon reduction benefits of sustainable fuels, resulting in a cleaner environment, starting today."

 


The company has pumped more than four&nbsp;million gallons of SAF since it&nbsp;began stocking permanent supplies at select locations in its network 13 months ago. Deliveries started at its San Francisco International Airport FBO in September&nbsp;2020, and over the past year, the company has expanded its SAF availability in the U.S. to two additional California locations—Oakland International and Van Nuys airports—as well as&nbsp;to Seattle and&nbsp;Texas's&nbsp;Houston Hobby and Austin-Bergstrom International airports.

 


Across the Atlantic, SAF is available to operators at Signature's facility at the UK’s London Luton Airport. The FBO chain has also struck a deal with Airbus to provide its Renew SAF to the airframer for all new airliners produced&nbsp;at its U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama.

 


Marketed under the Signature Renew brand, the fuel is a 35 percent SAF blend that offers a more than 25 percent lifecycle reduction in aircraft CO2 emissions. Overall, the renewable fuel sold by Signature has to date resulted in a more than 10,000-metric-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions.

 


“Four&nbsp;million gallons of sustainable jet fuel uplifted throughout our network is testament to SAF’s practicality in reducing carbon emissions,” said Lefebvre. “Supply is only one part of the equation. Signature’s ability to place gallons at scale with like-minded, environmentally&nbsp;friendly operators is a critical waypoint on the path to commercializing SAF.”

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

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