Do you want Virgin Atlantic biofuel airplanes?

Virgin Atlantic tested its first biofuel flight Sunday. They flew a 747 between London and Amsterdam using fuel made from a mixture of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. Since then, there has been a bunch of news calling this a publicity stunt, although some have expressed their support. It is still an experiment and Virgin Atlantic has partnered with Boeing, General Electric and Imperium Renewables to see if it can come up with a way to produce less carbon dioxide than today’s jets. On the first flight, 20% of the fuel was “neat biofuel” and 80% was normal jet fuel.

Apparently environmentalists are questioning whether or not biofuel in general is a help or hindrance to slowing global warming.

Here’s some talk, with quotes from the airline’s president, Richard Branson.

Virgin jet’s biofuel trip a stunt, say critics [Sydney Morning Herald]
Virgin Flies Biofueled Jet [AP]
Biofuel aircraft not viable for at least five years [Times Online of London]
Amazon nuts for first biofuel flight [Times of India]

Would you fly on a biofueled jet? If it was tested and proved safe, would you prefer it to non-biofuel jets?

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal Blogger

[Photo: Richard Branson tosses a babassu nut that's part of the biofuel mix of babassu and coconut oil; by Gill Allen / Bloomberg News]

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 1:33 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Eco-Travel, Europe, Great Britain, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.