Boarding.no : Virgin Atlantic to run 747 on biofuel

Virgin Atlantic will sunday february 24th fly one of its Boeing 747s on biofuel during a demonstration flight between London and Amsterdam. It will be the first time that a commercial aircraft has run biofuel in-flight and is part of a major initiative among some airlines and Boeing to discover sources of sustainable aircraft fuel for the future.

Virgin Atlantic Boeing
747
(Bjørn Søreng)

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 fresh water resources. The flight, in conjunction with Boeing and engine maker GE Aviation, is part of Virgin Atlantic’s drive to reduce its environmental impact wherever possible. The demonstration forms part of Virgin Atlantic’s vision for what the aviation industry can achieve by using clean-fuel technology to reduce carbon emissions.

Sir Richard Branson
(virginatlanticglobalflyer)

- This breakthrough will help Virgin Atlantic to fly its planes using clean fuel sooner than expected. The demonstration flight next month will give us crucial knowledge that we can use to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint. Virgin Group pledged to invest all its profits from its transportation companies towards developing clean energy and with this breakthrough we are well down the path to achieving our goals.."

Virgin Atlantic became the world’s first airline to enable customers to buy their carbon offsets onboard the aircraft during a flight. Its offset programme, launched last November, is a gold standard scheme which is also available to buy online.