We are a unique investment company, dedicated to sustainability in the aviation industry

Sustainability is becoming the aviation industry’s #1 issue

But to make the transition to net-zero a reality, there is an urgent need for more investment and greater collaboration

Our team is a unique mix of aviation, sustainability and investment experts...

...all dedicated to funding the journey to carbon-neutral skies by 2050.

News & Articles

Boeing and SkiesFifty Launch Partnership to Help Decarbonize Aviation

PRESS RELEASE: Boeing and SkiesFifty are joining forces to accelerate sustainability solutions for aviation. As an initial project, the companies will help in testing and advancing Firefly Green Fuels’ cutting-edge technology to increase SAF production in the UK
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Amadeus unveils investment proposal for debut SkiesFifty sustainable aviation fund

PRESS RELEASE: Amadeus has signed a LOI with the intention to invest in the debut fund from SkiesFifty, a global organization dedicated to sustainable aviation, part of a wider ambition to build a more sustainable travel industry.
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SkiesFifty, Gigablue, and RAIN agree to strategic partnership to revolutionize ocean-based carbon removal

PRESS RELEASE: Today, SkiesFifty, RAIN and Gigablue announced a collaboration to scale up Gigablue's groundbreaking carbon removal system.
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The devil in the detail – how achievable are airlines’ SAF targets?

A key factor in the aviation industry’s plans to reach net zero is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Most airlines are targeting SAF usage of 10% by 2030, but is this target achievable? SkiesFifty Partner, Robert Boyle, takes a look at the facts.
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Offsetting SkiesFifty’s Climate Impact

As an investment company dedicated to accelerating aviation’s journey to net zero, we want to offset our own air travel emissions in a comprehensive and transparent way. But with so many initiatives and schemes to choose from, what is the most effective way of mitigating our climate impact?
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Achieving sustainable aviation will require new kinds of collaboration

In this article, originally published in Ishka: Aviation Finance, SkiesFifty partner, Simon Talling-Smith outlines how industry-focused investment funds could help bridge the gap.
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Q&A with SkiesFifty's Krishnan Narayanan

Ishka SAVi speaks with Krishnan Narayanan on what sets the new firm apart from other climate technology investment catalysts and his initial market impressions after nine months on the road building a team, devising the right strategy and fundraising.
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Boeing and SkiesFifty Launch Partnership to Help Decarbonize Aviation

PRESS RELEASE: Boeing and SkiesFifty are joining forces to accelerate sustainability solutions for aviation. As an initial project, the companies will help in testing and advancing Firefly Green Fuels’ cutting-edge technology to increase SAF production in the UK
Read More

Amadeus unveils investment proposal for debut SkiesFifty sustainable aviation fund

PRESS RELEASE: Amadeus has signed a LOI with the intention to invest in the debut fund from SkiesFifty, a global organization dedicated to sustainable aviation, part of a wider ambition to build a more sustainable travel industry.
Read More

SkiesFifty, Gigablue, and RAIN agree to strategic partnership to revolutionize ocean-based carbon removal

PRESS RELEASE: Today, SkiesFifty, RAIN and Gigablue announced a collaboration to scale up Gigablue's groundbreaking carbon removal system.
Read More

The devil in the detail – how achievable are airlines’ SAF targets?

A key factor in the aviation industry’s plans to reach net zero is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Most airlines are targeting SAF usage of 10% by 2030, but is this target achievable? SkiesFifty Partner, Robert Boyle, takes a look at the facts.
Read More

Why SkiesFifty?

Sustainable aviation is essential
Sustainability is becoming the #1 issue for the aviation industry. It accounts for ~2.5% of global emissions and ~4-6% including non-CO2 effects, with the share set to grow over time. Aviation is committed to net carbon neutrality by 2050, but to make this transition a reality, there is an urgent need for more investment and greater collaboration.
The industry is not yet on track to achieve it
Whilst many individual players have plans and initiatives, collectively the industry is falling far short of what is required. Under current, business-as-usual scenarios, aviation emissions are set to rise by 2% per year. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) currently costs between 2 and 5 times the cost of regular jet fuel and accounts for only 0.1% of current fuel volumes. Given limited historical investment we are decades away from meaningful adoption of low emissions propulsion technologies for large, long-haul aircraft.
The solution is technology & collaboration
Only 25-40% of emissions can be reduced through efficiency gains; 60-75% require investment in new technology innovation and commercialization. Long investment cycles mean we need to find industry scale solutions in the next ~10 years. Typically, it takes time to implement new innovations in aviation and current funding is a mere fraction of what is needed for meaningful impact.
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About Us

We are an investment company dedicated to aviation sustainability and accelerating net-zero for the aviation industry.
We generate profound financial returns, but only if these returns benefit our objective of accelerating net zero for the sector.
Our team of 20 is a unique mix of aviation, sustainability, energy, and investment experts.
We are well positioned to encourage inter-enterprise collaboration and help the aviation industry achieve sustainability objectives that the individual players will struggle to do by themselves.
We are a multi-asset class investment company. The sustainability challenge requires a mix of venture capital, private equity, public equity, and infrastructure investments.
We have deep expertise across the aviation value chain, including SAF, carbon-capture, hydrogen and operations automation - all of which will be part of the sustainable aviation solution.

Meet our Team

A team of aviation industry, sustainability and finance professionals – a unique combination of expertise.

Partners

Krishnan Narayanan
Partner
COO of RAIN; former partner and regional leader at PwC Strategy&; extensive experience in alternative investments, sustainability and new technology.
Simon Talling-Smith
Partner
Former CCO Qatar Airways and EVP British Airways; extensive aviation leadership experience and a deep understanding of innovative technologies.
Glenn Morgan
Partner
Former CTO at IAG and founder of the Hangar 51 CVC. Seasoned tech & aviation executive with leadership roles in Emirates, IATA, oneworld, British Airways and IAG.
Robert Boyle
Partner
Former Chief Strategy Officer at IAG, aviation expert with over three decades’ experience in leadership roles spanning strategy, commercial, operations, finance, innovation, partnerships and M&A.
Kurt Stache
Partner
Former CMO at American Airlines, over 25 years of cross-functional leadership experience in AA’s commercial, finance, strategy, operations, and international business development.
Julia Sattel
Partner
Former President of Amadeus and VP Strategic Product Marketing at Toshiba; extensive technology leadership experience with a passion for success through innovation.

Leadership & Expert Partners

Laura Byrnes

General Counsel & COO

Former SVP & Head of Business & Legal Affairs, BBC Studios, APAC.

David Hughes

Expert Partner

Former Vice Chairman, Petrochemicals Europe, Asian Clean Fuels Association. Former Vice President, SABIC, Board Member of multiple Petrochemical JVs in Middle East. Founder of Catalsys.

Kevin Fothergill

Expert Partner

Former Commercial Director at Johnson Matthey with 20 years' experience in hydrogen, fuel cells and clean energy. Former Chair of the UK Hydrogen Hub.

John McCreery

Expert Partner

John is a former senior partner with Bain & Company. He is focused on energy and sustainability with deep experience in strategy, M&A, performance and operations

SkiesFifty is an initiative from RAIN, and benefits from the extensive finance and investing experience of the RAIN team.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
Robert Swan OBE, polar explorer

Get in touch

If you are interested in discussing any aspect of our mission to fund the journey to carbon-neutral skies, we want to hear from you.

General enquiries

Click below to get in touch to find out more about us, send any media or press enquiries, investigate job opportunities or anything else...

General

Proposals for investment

Use the link below to get in touch if you have a technology, innovation or project that you are looking for investment in...

Proposal

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