The British Virgin Atlantic has just achieved a new milestone in world aviation. Ha completed first transatlantic flight using exclusively sustainable fuel (SAF) in one of its aircraft. The route that the aircraft has followed has linked Heathrow Airport in London with JFK in New York in 7 hours and 15 minutes, approximately 35 minutes less than expected before takeoff.
The aircraft chosen was a Boeing 787 with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to cover this long-haul route. Airline founder and business magnate Richard Branson has come aboard for this first jump. “Today’s flight demonstrates that sustainable aviation fuel can be used as a direct substitute for conventional fuel and it is the only viable solution to decarbonize long-distance flights,” he declared before takeoff.
Until now, several airlines around the world had used it on numerous flights, but always on shorter routes or in a low percentage of the total kerosene. “There is still a long way to go, there is simply not enough sustainable aviation fuel,” Branson said. The return flight to the English airport was made with traditional kerosene.
First Virgin Atlantic flight with used fuel
The engines of commercial aircraft currently in service do not have the necessary approval to fly using only SAF and cases like this one from Virgin Atlantic are part of scientific studies to pave the way for greater adoption. “If we hadn’t known it was a 100% sustainable fuel flight, no one would have said it,” said Mark Harper, Britain’s Transport Minister. The flight data “will be as similar as possible to that of a regular flight.”
SAF is mainly extracted from used cooking oil and animal fat of waste mixed with a small amount of aromatic kerosene from the remains of corn, as the airline itself has explained.
Virgin Atlantic has also partnered with Virgin Unite and the Rocky Mountain Institute to fund work collecting information on in-flight contrail emissions; those popularly known as contrails. “These tests will advance the science around contrails and help develop in-flight procedures that can significantly reduce the climate impact of aviation.”
Beyond the historic milestone achieved by the airline’s 787, an Airbus 330 of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force carried out a flight with SAF in December 2022. The Emirates flag airline also used this type of fuel last week to fuel to one of the four engines of an Airbus A380, according to Reuters. Like A Gulfstream G600 executive jet also crossed the Atlantic a week ago with SAF.
Flight crew before takeoff, with the 787 in the background
“This is a huge step forward for both the company and the industry as a whole, as Virgin joins a growing number of airlines that have committed to decarbonising aviation through the use of low-carbon fuel,” according to explained Caroline Midgley, director of biofuels and chemicals research at GlobalData. “Many airlines have ambitious goals, typically seeking to replace 10% of their fossil kerosene with SAF by 2030.”
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2023-11-29 17:11:22
#aeronautical #milestone #plane #crosses #Atlantic #oil #fuel
