Virgin to make first biofuel flight in February

14 January 2008 10:44  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Virgin Atlantic will become the first commercial airline to run a passenger jet on biofuel when it makes a demonstration flight next month, the company said on Monday. 

 

“The Virgin Atlantic 747 will fly from London Heathrow to Amsterdam on a demonstration flight, with no passengers on board, using a truly sustainable type of biofuel that doesn’t compete with food and free water sources,” the British airline said in a statement.

 

Virgin Atlantic will run the flight in conjunction with Boeing and engine maker GE Aviation.

 

“This breakthrough will help Virgin Atlantic to fly its planes using clean fuel sooner than expected,” said Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson.

 

“The demonstration flight next month will give us crucial knowledge that we can use to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint,” he added.

 

Air New Zealand plans to trial a biofuel-powered Boeing aircraft running Rolls-Royce engines in the second half of 2008 or early in 2009.

 

Bookmark Simon Robinson’s Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels

 

By: Lucy Craymer
+44 20 8652 3214

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