Aviation biofuel
Date Operator Platform Biofuel Notes
June 30 , 2011 KLM Boeing 737-800 Waste vegetable oil KLM flew the world 's first commercial biofuel flight , carrying 171 passengers from Amsterdam to Paris
July 15 , 2011 Lufthansa Airbus A321 Jatropha , Camelina and animal fats First German commercial biofuel 's flight , and the start of 6-month regular series of flights from Hamburg to Frankfurt with one of the two engines use biofuel . It officially ended on January 12 , 2012 with a flight from Frankfurt to Washington and would not take biofuel further unless the biofuel was more widely produced
July 20 , 2011 Finnair Airbus A319 Waste vegetable oil The 1,500 km journey between Amsterdam and Helsinki was fuelled with a mix of 50 per cent biofuel derived from used cooking oil and 50 per cent conventional jet fuel . Finnair says it will conduct at least three weekly Amsterdam-to-Helsinki flights using the biofuel blend in both of the aircraft 's engines . Refueling will be done at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Jul 2011 Interjet Airbus A320 Jatropha Flight was powered by 27% jatropha between Mexico City and Tuxtla Gutierrez
Aug 2011 AeroMexico Boeing 777-200 Jatropha Aeromexico flew the world 's first trans-Atlantic revenue flight , from Mexico City to Madrid with passengers
Oct 2011 Thomson Airways Boeing 757-200 Waste vegetable oil Thomson flew the UK 's first commercial biofuel flight from Birmingham Airport on one engine using biofuel from used cooking oil , supplied by SkyNRG
Nov 2011 Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 Algae fuel United / Continental flew biofuel flight from IAH to ORD on algae jet fuel , which supplied by Solazyme
April 19 , 2012 Jetstar Airways Airbus A320 Refined cooking oil JQ flight 705 departed Melbourne at 0950 and arrived in Hobart at 1105 supplied by SkyNRG
March 13 , 2013 KLM Boeing 777-206ER Waste vegetable oil KLM begins weekly flights by a Boeing 777-200 between John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City , USA and Amsterdam 's Schiphol Airport , Netherlands using Biofuel supplied by SkyNRG
May 16 , 2014 KLM Airbus A330-200 Waste vegetable oil KLM begins weekly flights by an Airbus A330-200 between Queen Beatrix International Airport , in Oranjestad Aruba and Amsterdam 's Schiphol Airport , Netherlands ( with a stop-over in Bonaire ) using Biofuel supplied by SkyNRG
Aug 4 , 2014 Gol Transportes Aéreos Boeing 737-700 Inedible corn oil and Waste vegetable oil Gol Flight 2152 took off from Rio Santos Dumont Airport ( SDU ) towards Brasilia ( BSB ) with a 4% mix of bio jetfuel
Nov 7 , 2014 Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-600 Waste vegetable oil SAS Flight SK2064 flew their first ever flight using bio-fuel between Stockholm and Östersund using a 10% blend of JET A1 based on used cooking oil . It was also the first flight from Arlanda Airport
Nov 11 , 2014 Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-700 Waste vegetable oil SAS Flight SK371 flew the first ever Norwegian domestic flight using bio-fuel between Trondheim and Oslo using a 48% blend of JET A1 based on used cooking oil
Mar 21 , 2015 Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-800 Waste vegetable oil Hainan Airlines conducted China 's first commercial biofuel flight carrying 156 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing . The fuel , supplied by Sinopec , was a fuel blend of approximately 50 percent aviation biofuel mixed with conventional petroleum jet fuel
Mar 31 , 2016 KLM Embraer 190 Unknown KLM operated an Embraer 190 on Biofuel between Oslo and Schiphol , Amsterdam . Embraer used these flights to measure the efficiency of the Embraer 190 on biofuel
June 7 , 2016 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 ATJ-SPK ( Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene ) Alaska Airlines conducted the first commercial flights using alcohol-to-jet fuel made from U.S. sustainable corn . The alcohol-to-jet fuel was provided by Gevo , Inc and blended at approximately 20% . Alaska Airlines flew two flights from Seattle , Washington to San Francisco , California and from Seattle , Washington to Washington D.C
Sept 8 , 2016 KLM Boeing 747-400 Waste vegetable oil KLM signed a contract to operate all daily flights from LAX to Schiphol , Amsterdam . SkyNRG supplies the sustainable biofuel , which is made from used cooking oil by AltAir Fuels in Los Angeles . All flights from Los Angeles to Amsterdam are operated with biofuel until 2019
Nov 14 , 2016 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 ATJ-SPK ( Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene ) Alaska Airlines conducted the first commercial flight using sustainable alternative fuel made from forest residuals . The fuel for the flight from Seattle , Washington to Washington D.C. was provided by a joint effort from Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance ( NARA ) and Gevo , Inc . The flight emitted approximately 70% less CO2 than conventional jet fuel
May 1 , 2017 Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 HEFA ( hydro-processed esters and fatty acids ) Singapore Airlines begun a series of biofuel flights using A350-900 aircraft on non-stop trans-Pacific flights between Singapore and San Francisco . The project is being undertaken by Singapore Airlines in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and air navigation service providers , using enhanced flight operations and Air Traffic Management ( ATM ) practices along the flight route
Commercial and demonstration flights -- Commercial flights
Aviation biofuel is a biofuel used for aircraft. It is considered by some to be the primary means by which the aviation industry can reduce its carbon footprint. After a multi-year technical review from aircraft makers, engine manufacturers and oil companies, biofuels were approved for commercial use in July 2011. Since then, some airlines have experimented with using biofuels on commercial flights. The focus of the industry has now turned to second generation sustainable biofuels (sustainable aviation fuels) that do not compete with food supplies nor are major consumers of prime agricultural land or fresh water. NASA has determined that 50% aviation biofuel mixture can cut air pollution caused by air traffic by 50-70%. The sustainable aviation fuels certification and production pace seems insufficient to meet the IATA target of halving the CO emissions by 2050. The first flight using blended biofuel took place in 2008. Since then, more than 150,000 flights have used biofuels. Only five airports have regular biofuel distribution today (Bergen, Brisbane, Los Angeles, Oslo and Stockholm), with others offering occasional supply. Trials of using algae as biofuel were carried out by Lufthansa, and Virgin Atlantic as early as 2008, although there is little evidence that using algae is a reasonable source for jet biofuels. By 2015, cultivation of fatty acid methyl esters and alkenones from the algae, Isochrysis, was under research as a possible jet biofuel feedstock.