Lufthansa to Launch Scheduled Passenger Flights Using Biofuel

Lufthansa is to launch the world’s first ever scheduled commercial passenger flights using biofuel in the first half of 2011, with an IAE (International Aero Engines) powered Airbus A321 aircraft.

The daily flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt, will use a biofuel blend made from 50% Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). When it is consumed, fuel made from bio-mass material emits the CO2 it naturally absorbs when it grows, thereby helping neutralize overall CO2 emissions.

The daily flights will begin in April 2011 and will initially continue for a period of six months as part of the ‘Burn Fair’ R&T project to study the long term impact of sustainable biofuels on aircraft performance. Airbus will provide technical assistance and will monitor the fuel properties.

“We see great opportunities in the use of bio-synthetic kerosene. But we are first gathering experience with it in daily practice. Indeed, Lufthansa is the world’s first airline to utilise biofuel in flight operations. This is a further consistent step in the sustainability strategy, which Lufthansa has for years been successfully pursuing” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa CEO.

The biofuel is being provided by Finland based Neste Oil, under a long term agreement with Lufthansa. The fuel will only be produced from sustainable feedstock sources to make sure that the bio-feedstock does not compete for food, water nor land. In addition Neste Oil are members of RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels) and RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil).

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