British Jet Becomes First to Fly Using Biofuel Mix

LONDON — Virgin Atlantic set an aviation milestone Sunday by flying the first commercial aircraft powered by biofuel in an effort to reduce the airline's carbon footprint.

Although challenges remain, airline industry analysts agreed that biofuel feasibility is no longer in question. But environmentalists charged that more attention should be paid to curbing the continued growth in air travel.

"Virgin Atlantic and its partners are proving that you can find an alternative to traditional jet fuel and fly a plane on new technology such as sustainable biofuel," said British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic's founder and president.

The Boeing 747 made the 90-minute journey from London to Amsterdam with one of its four main fuel tanks filled with a blend of coconut and babassu oil. The babassu tree is a species of palm that is native to Brazil's Amazon rain forest.

The jet aircraft reached an altitude of 25,000 feet and carried five people — pilots and technicians — but no passengers.

Other airlines said they had no current plans to test biofuels on their aircraft, although all admit to closely watching developments in this area.

"We continue to work with airports, aircraft manufacturers, and engine makers to explore ways of operating our current fleet with as minimal environmental impact as possible," said Jaspreet Thind, a spokesman for Dallas-based American Airlines.

Olivia Cullis, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, said that while Delta is not currently set up to participate in a test of alternative jet fuel, the airline "fully supports" the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, an industry-wide group.

Biofuels, which are mostly derived from crops such as grain, sugar, and vegetable oils, are seen by proponents as a good way to cut carbon emissions while also increasing energy security by reducing a dependence on fossil fuels.

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant in Port Washington, N.Y., said there's no doubt biofuel is feasible.

"The U.S. Air Force has already flown a B-52 on both biofuel and on coal-and-gas-to-liquid fuel," he said.

Rolls-Royce Group has said it will partner with Air New Zealand for biofuel trials sometime next year, he added.

But Mann said that biofuel as a substitute for the petroleum-based fuel normally used by jet aircraft remains a "suspect" alternative that could have "unintended consequences."

He said he suspects that "the future will require the allocation of specific fuel types to specific uses."

Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst at San Francisco-based Forrester Research, said engine and aircraft manufacturers would never allow a test flight to go forward if they didn't believe biofuel to be viable.

"The challenge, of course, is what non-petrol resources will be used in the development and manufacture of biofuels, whether for aviation or other forms of transport," he said.

"Obviously a concern is that if a food-based resource, such as corn, is used, we need to find cost-efficient, environmentally responsible ways to increase production without reducing the output available for human food consumption," he said.

"And if it is non-food based, it must be a sustainable product that can be harvested in a safe, responsible manner," he said.

Virgin Atlantic officials said that they are committed to using only "truly sustainable" types of biofuel that do not compete with food and fresh water resources.

But at least one environmental group, Friends of the Earth, said that any carbon savings from crop-based fuels would be negligible and that Virgin Atlantic and other airlines should instead work to reduce air travel.

"Even if every plane leaving the (United Kingdom) was able to run on biofuels tomorrow, any carbon savings would be wiped out in less than 10 years by the rapid growth of the aviation industry," the group said in a statement.

Sunday's test flight by Virgin Atlantic and its partners — Boeing, General Electric and Imperium Renewables — did not require any change to the airliner's engines.

It comes at a time when airlines are eager to do anything they can to offset the high cost of jet fuel, which is now more than $2.60 a gallon, and to help reduce emissions.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has been urging the aviation industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which account for about 3 percent of the total in the EU.

"Airlines are very keen to ensure they don't increase their carbon emissions even as the industry is projected to operate more aircraft and carry more people," Harteveldt said. "And anything that can be done to offset the high cost of fuel is important in helping the industry reduce its costs and maintain profitability."