Episode
IATA's Chief Economist on Why SAF Investment Is Stuck and What Fixes It
- Podcast
- Bryan Air
- Published
- Apr 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 958
- Processing state
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- https://bryanairpodcast.com/iatas-chief-economist-on-why-saf-investment-is-stuck-and-what-fixes-it
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Summary
🎙 EPISODE SNAPSHOT Welcome to The Bryan Air Podcast. Career intelligence for pilots. We break down executive moves, economic forces, and the technology reshaping how pilots are trained, assessed, and employed. Boardroom decisions land on your flight deck — we translate them first. No corporate spin. Just the intelligence pilots actually need. Sustainable aviation fuel accounts for 0.8% of global jet fuel consumption. That is not a typo. Dr Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, sits down with Bryan in Singapore to explain why the SAF market barely exists, why European mandates have driven prices up without cutting a single ton of CO2, and why investors are pouring billions into AI data centres while aviation fuel gets 1.2% of global energy investment. In an industry running on 3.9% profit margins, the question is not whether airlines want to decarbonize. It is whether anyone has built a system that lets them do it without going broke. Thomsen lays out what needs to change and why aviation cannot solve this alone. In this episode of The Bryan Air Podcast, Bryan Roseveare speaks with Dr Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, live at IATA WDS 2026 in Singapore about sustainable aviation fuel supply, European SAF mandates, investment risk, AI energy competition, airline profit margins, and career advice for young pilots. ✈ TIME-STAMPED FLIGHT PLAN 00:00 Introducing Dr Marie Owens Thomsen at IATA WDS 2026 00:39 Why collaboration across the industry is no longer optional 02:08 What IATA's sustainability and economics division actually does 04:24 SAF supply reality: 0.8% of global jet fuel and barely a market 06:00 European mandates raised prices and cut zero emissions 08:31…