MEXICO CITY, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Two of Latin America's

top airlines - Chilean carrier LATAM and Mexico's Aeromexico -

are considering alternatives to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),

which remains in short supply in the region, as a means to cut

carbon emissions.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Aviation is a heavily polluting industry due to the jet fuel

used to power planes. The sector agrees that the transition to

using SAFs is a priority to reach net-zero carbon emissions

commitments, and some countries have rolled out incentive

programs or regulations setting minimum percentage targets for

SAF use.

However, fuel feedstocks made from waste products such as

used cooking oils and crop residues remain in short supply and

are much costlier than traditional fuel.

CONTEXT

Aeromexico has been piggybacking off U.S. carrier Delta's

tie-ups for SAF supply, an Aeromexico executive told

journalists, capitalizing on a years-long partnership.

Aeromexico also makes use of so-called "book-and-claim"

deals, said Karen Farias, the carrier's head of environmental,

social, and governance matters. This allows airlines to offset

emissions by purchasing credits originating from the use of SAF

by other carriers.

Sugarcane is in plentiful supply and could be an option for

producing SAF in Mexico and Paraguay, LATAM Airlines' Mexico

head Diana Olivares said at an event hosted by ProChile.

Construction is currently under way on an SAF plant in

Paraguay that will use cooking oils and soybean oil.

And both LATAM and Aeromexico are rolling out

artificial-intelligence programs to monitor and make fuel usage

more efficient, the airlines' executives said.

KEY QUOTES

"Airlines have a bad reputation for being really

contaminating," Olivares said. "But it's something we're working

very hard on."

"We can't just say: 'Well this is hard,' because we're going

to fall behind," Farias said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Aviation is responsible for about 2% of all greenhouse gas

emissions, according to data shared by Aeromexico.

Swapping out traditional fuel for SAFs represents "about 60%

of the solution" in bringing airlines' emissions down, Olivares

said.