Virgin Atlantic jet completes maiden transatlantic flight on low-carbon fuel

FE Team | Published: December 01, 2023 00:22:22

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters): A Virgin Atlantic passenger jet powered by 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) completed a London-to-New York jaunt on Tuesday, showcasing the potential of low-carbon options, which are a tiny fraction of the industry's fuel mix.
The flight is not the first time the industry has staged demonstrations to highlight its aspiration to reduce emissions - and appeal for government support. Indeed, Tuesday's flight carried only Virgin's billionaire founder, Richard Branson, and a few others, and it is set to return to London using conventional jet fuel.
Airlines are banking on fuel made from waste to reduce their emissions by up to 70 per cent, but the high cost and tight supply of materials needed to make SAF make large-scale production difficult. SAF accounts for less than 0.1 per cent of total global jet fuel in use today and costs three to five times as much as regular jet fuel.
The flight, operated by a Virgin Boeing 787 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, is the first time a commercial airliner has flown long haul on 100 per cent SAF. It had no paying passengers or cargo.
"It's going to take a while before we can get enough fuel where everybody's going to be able to fly. But you've got to start somewhere," said Branson in London before the plane took off.
Aviation is not an easy industry to decarbonize compared to road travel, and it accounts for an estimated 2-3 per cent of global carbon emissions.
Engines in commercial use are not yet certified to fly on more than 50 per cent SAF and the vast majority of flights blend in a much lower amount of SAF with traditional jet fuel.
SAF is already used in jet engines as part of a blend with traditional kerosene, but after successful ground tests, Virgin and its partners Rolls-Royce, Boeing, BP and others won permission to fly using only SAF from the US Federal Aviation Administration, Canadian and UK regulators.
The flight took off at 1149 GMT from London's Heathrow Airport with Branson, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss and Britain's transport minister, Mark Harper, on board. It landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1405 EST (1905 GMT), 35 minutes early, where it was met by US Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, among others.
Harper told Reuters after landing in New York that the flight was uneventful.