Qantas aircraft to run on biofuel from 2020
Australia’s flag carrier Qantas Airways announced that its aircraft operating from Los Angeles Airport (LAX) to Australia will be powered by biofuel from 2020. The commercial biofuel agreement with US based bio-energy company SG Preston is the first of its kind in Australian aviation history.
Over the next ten years, Qantas will annually purchase eight million gallons of renewable jet fuel, consists of 50 percent renewable jet fuel produced from non-food plant oils, blended with 50 percent traditional jet fuel.
“The partnership with SG Preston is part of our commitment to lowering carbon emissions across our operations and sees us becoming the first Australian airline to use renewable jet fuel on an ongoing basis,” said Gareth Evans, CEO of Qantas International and Freight.
In 2012, the Qantas Group successfully operated Australia’s first biofuel trial flights. Qantas’ A330 Sydney-Adelaide return service and Jetstar’s A320 Melbourne-Hobart return service were both powered with biofuel derived from used cooking oil (split with 50:50 conventional jet fuel) certified for use in commercial aviation.
