Air New Zealand has completed the world’s first commercial test flight using a new biofuel. The two-hour flight around the Auckland region was powered by a unique 50:50 mixture of Jet A1 fuel and a “Jetophra plant” biofuel.
The pilots were delighted with the performance of the new fuel which was tested at different speeds, different altitudes and even during a mid-air engine re-start. This groundbreaking test brings environmentally sustainable air travel one step closer to fruition, and could see Air New Zealand’s aircraft powered by biofuel as soon as 2011.