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Dec 30, 2008 – The AP reported that an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil completed a 2-hour flight to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said. One engine was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

Biofuels were once regarded as impractical for aviation because most freeze at the low temperatures encountered at cruising altitudes. But tests show jatropha, whose seeds yield oil already used to produce fuels like biodiesel, has an even lower freezing point than jet fuel. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe called the flight “a milestone for the airline and commercial aviation.”
The flight was the first to use jatropha as part of a biofuel mix. In February, Boeing and Virgin Atlantic carried out a similar test flight that included a biofuel mixture of palm and coconut oil – but was dismissed as a publicity stunt by environmentalists who said the fuel could not be produced in the quantities needed for commercial aviation use. Biofuels emit as much carbon as kerosene-based jet fuel, but jatropha – a Mexican plant that grows in warm climates – absorbs about half the carbon that jatropha-based fuels release. Air New Zealand’s proposed blend, for example, would mean a one-quarter reduction in the carbon footprint of standard jet fuel.
Ethanol, which is produced from corn, has been blamed for raising the price of food by diverting it from kitchen tables to engines. The test flight out of Auckland International Airport included a full-power takeoff and cruising to 35,000 ft (10,600 m), where the crew manually set all four engine controls to check for identical performance readings among the biofuel-powered engine and those using jet fuel. Pilots also switched off the fuel pump for the biofuel engine at 25,000 ft (7,600 m) “to test the lubricity of the fuel,” ensuring its friction in the pipe did not slow its flow to the engine. Sims cautioned that it will be at least 2013 before the company can ensure easy access to the large quantities of jatropha it would need to use the biofuel on all of its flights.
The company hopes that by 2013, 10% of its flights will be powered, at least in part, by biofuels. Most of those using the blend would be short haul domestic services. The flight was a joint venture by Air New Zealand, airplane maker Boeing, engine maker Rolls Royce and biofuel specialist, UOP Llc, a unit of Honeywell International.