Qantas Consumes Biofuel Mixed Fuel To Los Angeles

Qantas Consumes Biofuel Mixed Fuel To Los Angeles

Qantas Consumes Biofuel Mixed Fuel To Los Angeles. Qantas will use a blend of renewable biofuels starting in 2020. The airline said on Friday it would buy eight million gallons of fuel every year for the next decade from US bioenergy company SF Preston.

Qantas tested domestic biofuel flights in 2012. The fuel is renewable at 50 percent and is produced from non-food vegetable oils, mixed with 50 percent of traditional jet fuel.

The biofuel would be used by Qantas' Airbus A380, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 787-9 long-range aircraft leaving Los Angeles. Compared to standard jet fuel, the biofuel blend emits half the amount of carbon emissions per gallon during its life cycle, said Qantas Cargo and International Executive Director Gareth Evans.

"Through our biofuels program, we are also exploring renewable fuel opportunities in Australia and continue to work with suppliers to develop locally produced biofuels for aviation use," Evans said.

IATA (International Air Transport Association) Environment Director, Michael Gill applauded Qantas and SG Preston saying the deal was "the first commercial biofuel use for an Australian airline."

"Offers such as these are critical to the development of a global biofuels sector and the achievement of the climate objectives of the aviation industry." Closer to home, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia were linked in 2016 to investigate whether an aviation biofuel could be produced locally.

They received more than 30 responses from organizations in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Europe.

But Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon told the company's annual shareholder meeting in September that no commercially viable biofuel had yet been available but that the airline was closely monitoring the developments.

Air New Zealand's annual Sustainability Report, published in early October, reiterated that message. "We have learned that large-scale and practicable volumes of biofuels remain a way of becoming a commercial reality, particularly with the current price of oil globally, and in the absence of clear political incentives to encourage production in Australasia.

"However, we continue to explore options for manufacturing in New Zealand, working with potential partners in the technology and fuel supply chain."

Globally, airlines considered biofuel as a potentially cheaper alternative when oil prices hit record highs in 2008, threatening their gains.