July 2011 Archives

In my round-up of airline biofuel firsts I failed to mention Mexico's Interjet, which conducted Latin America's first commercial biofuel flight on 21 July.

See here for the full story. 

I'm losing track of the number of firsts being claimed by airlines seeking a slice of the biofuel PR cake, so I thought I'd do a quick recap.

KLM sneakily stole the crown for first commercial biofuel flight in late June when it flew from Amsterdam Schiphol to Paris Charles de Gaulle, but it has yet to begin regular scheduled biofuel flights.

Lufthansa became the first carrier to do this on 15 July when it began a six-month trial using a 50:50 blend of ordinary kerosene and biofuel derived from jatropha, camelina and animal fat on flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Five days later, Finnair claimed the title of operating the longest commercial biofuel flight, when it took off from Amsterdam Schiphol bound for Helsinki on a 50:50 blend of kerosene and fuel derived from used cooking oil.

And Thomson Airways plans to operate the first UK commercial biofuel flight on 28 July when it takes off from Birmingham for Palma, again powered by a 50:50 blend of kerosene and fuel derived from used cooking oil.

With hydrotreated renewable jet (HRJ) - or hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) - fuels having only secured certification for aviation from ASTM International on 1 July, we're still a long way from seeing widespread commercial use of aviation biofuels.

And environmental groups still have lots of questions about the true sustainability of biofuels - although the airlines involved insist they will only use sustainably-sourced fuels.

In addition to the flights listed above, there are various aviation biofuel projects going on, or being planned, in a number of different global locations.

For example, the US government has established five virtual research centres across the country to examine which feedstocks will work.

And the Mexican government is also heavily involved in researching the country's potential for providing alternative fuels.

And this is just to name a few. What started off as a pie-in-the-sky idea that many laughed off as being as unlikely as a winged pig is rapidly becoming very hard to ignore.

Environmental groups have sent a reminder to the UK Government that the current UK aviation target is 37.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, pointing out that CO2 emissions from aviation reached 44.9 million tonnes in 2010.

AirportWatch is calling for a number of measures to be implemented, including mandatory five-yearly assessments of aircraft fuel efficiency "to check new aviation technology is delivering the industry's promises".

Says Tim Johnson, director of the Aviation Environment Federation: "The Government has already set a tough CO2 emissions target for UK air transport which must be retained and strengthened.

"The Government needs, however, to endorse all the findings of the Committee on Climate Change and challenge the industry to deliver its 'aspirational' technology and efficiency goals as a major contribution towards meeting the 2050 target."