Airfreight surcharge at Swiss WorldCargo to include SAF mandate from January 2025

From 1 January 2025, Swiss WorldCargo will include the rising costs of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) due to regulatory environmental requirements in the price index of its existing Airfreight Surcharge (ASC). Starting in 2025, a statutory SAF blending quota of initially two percent will apply for departures from European Union (EU) countries. Countries outside the EU are also planning to introduce or have already introduced mandatory SAF blends.

How does the Airfreight Surcharge work?

The ASC was introduced in 2015. It is a combined surcharge to cover rising costs beyond Swiss WorldCargo’s control. So far, these have mainly been related to rising prices for fuel, currency, air/traffic control and security prices.

The calculation system for said surcharge relies on a flexible and fair system that works as follows: Swiss WorldCargo monitors the development of additional costs for the ASC using a standardized index calculation system. If the indexed costs justify an adjustment of the ASC up or down, the cargo carrier can decide to adjust the ASC rate. The ASC is added to the net price of each shipment.

In some countries, regulations do not allow surcharges or only allow them to be applied in certain ways. In addition, market-specific requirements are considered to ensure a balanced relationship between ASC and net tariffs. This may result in different country-specific surcharge levels.

Systematic climate targets

As a leading international cargo carrier, our mission is to enable global business and connect economies and markets in a more sustainable way. Together with the Lufthansa Group, our company has set itself ambitious climate protection targets. SWISS and Swiss WorldCargo aim to achieve a neutral CO2 balance by 2050 and to halve the company’s net CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019. To achieve these goals, the company is focusing in particular on investing in an innovative and sustainable fleet, continuous optimization of flight operations, and the leverage of SAF, included in our ‘Green Choice’ Add-on Service, to make cargo transportation more sustainable in order to achieve effective climate protection.

The ‘Green Choice’ Add-on Service enables customers to transport their shipments with Swiss WorldCargo in a more sustainable way by combining SAF with high-quality climate protection projects and documenting this investment with emissions-reduction certificates.

SAF is a key technology to achieve more sustainable flying and is essential for the energy transition in aviation. However, the aviation industry cannot drive forward a competitive SAF market on its own. A significant increase in the use of SAF is only possible if its supply volumes and availability increase substantially as quickly as possible and the prices fall accordingly. Biogenic SAF is currently available in small quantities and 3-5 times more expensive than fossil fuel. A targeted policy strategy is needed for companies and airlines to be able to meet the volumes for the blending rates and beyond.

Background information

Individual flights are not fueled with pure SAF. As a so-called "drop-in" fuel, SAF is compatible with fossil kerosene and can be easily added to it. Before being transported to the airport, SAF is blended with fossil aviation fuel and then fed into the airport infrastructure. The Lufthansa Group ensures that the amount of SAF required to offset individual CO2 emissions is fed into the Lufthansa Group's flight operations within six months of purchase. Over its entire life cycle, SAF made from biogenic residues has a carbon footprint that is approximately 80 percent lower than that of conventional kerosene made from fossil crude oil.