JQ flight 705 departed Melbourne at 0950 and arrived in Hobart at 1105 where the aircraft was greeted by Tourism Tasmania Chief Executive Tony Mayell.

David Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Jetstar Australia & New Zealand said the airline joined a handful of carriers around the world who have operated sustainable aviation fuel flights.

“Innovation is at the heart of what we do at Jetstar and today we are the first low fares carrier in the Asia Pacific region to operate a commercial sustainable aviation fuel flight,” Mr Hall said.

“We chose Hobart as the destination for the biofuel flight because of Tasmania’s commitment to sustainable tourism and reflecting its unique environment.”

Tasmanian Minister for Tourism Scott Bacon said: “It’s wonderful to see Tasmania being chosen by Jetstar as the destination for their biofuel powered commercial flight.

“Sufficient and reliable access to our island state isn’t just important for tourism, it’s a fundamental requirement for our economy and our community.”

Tourism Tasmania CEO Tony Mayell congratulated Jetstar on its commitment to the initiative and to Tasmania generally.

“Tasmania has prided itself on its widespread use of renewable energy, and as an island state that is very proud and protective of our unmatched natural environment,” Mr Mayell said.

“Jetstar’s commitments to reduce fuel costs, achieve lower emissions and create a more sustainable aviation sector can only benefit Tasmania in the long run.”

Mr Hall said Jetstar, as part of the Qantas Group, welcomes the Federal Government’s recent announcement of a feasibility study into a sustainable aviation fuel industry.

“We are keen to examine alternatives to regular jet fuel that would help reduce emissions and support an industry which could potentially generate up to 12,000 jobs over the next 20 years,” Mr Hall said.

“Fuel makes up around 40 per cent of our costs and investigating alternative fuel sources is not only sustainable environmentally but if financially sustainable and would help Jetstar continue to offer low fares and drive new markets.”

Supplied by SkyNRG, the fuel type is a 50:50 blend of biofuel and conventional jet fuel certified for use in commercial aviation. Its ‘life cycle’ carbon footprint is around 60 per cent smaller than that of conventional jet fuel.

Jetstar launched services to Tasmania in May 2004 and operates a total of 92 weekly return services from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

During the 2011 financial year, Jetstar carried more than 1.25 million passengers on services across Bass Strait.

Our passengers have the option to offset their share of flight emissions when they fly by choosing the carbon offset option when booking on Jetstar.com.

Taken from: click here

The Airbus A330 left Sydney for Adelaide using a 50-50 blend derived from recycled cooking oil and regular jet fuel in what the airline hopes will be the first step towards a sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia.

“We need to get ready for a future that is not based on traditional jet fuel or frankly we don’t have a future,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

“And it’s not just the price of oil that’s the issue — it’s also the price of carbon.

“From July, Qantas will be the only airline in the world to face liabilities in three jurisdictions, so our sense of urgency is justified.”

Europe already imposes a controversial carbon tax on airlines, while New Zealand has a carbon tax that applies to flights within that country by Qantas’ budget carrier Jetstar.

Australia’s tax on carbon emissions comes into force on July 1.

Qantas said the biofuel, which has been certified for use in commercial aviation, has a “life cycle” carbon footprint about 60 percent smaller than that of conventional jet fuel.

Jet fuel is the largest operational expense for the Australian carrier, which in February announced it would slash at least 500 jobs and cut costs after an 83 per cent slump in first-half net profits.

In March it hiked its fuel surcharge for the second time in two months, saying its fuel costs were expected to rise by $300 million in the six months to June 30 to $2.25 billion.

The Australian government said it would help Qantas fund a study into the sustainable production and commercialisation of aviation biofuels.

Under the $500,000 Emerging Renewables Program grant, Qantas will partner with Shell Australia to undertake a feasibility study into the long-term viability of biofuel feedstock and the production of low carbon aviation fuels.

“Today’s flight, together with the feasibility study, represents an important step towards an Australian aviation industry powered by our own biofuels,” Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said.

“This could be the beginning of Qantas becoming ‘Flying Bio-Roo’.”

taken from: click here

Flight to be scheduled just before Earth Day with a Bombardier Q400 turboprop ·

Preparatory test flight successfully flown by Bombardier in February 2012

In mid-April, Porter Airlines plans to use one of its Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliners to conduct the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada. On February 9, 2012, in preparation for Porter’s upcoming flight, a Bombardier Q400 turboprop test aircraft became the first aircraft in Canada to fly on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D7566 bio-derived jet fuel, which was recently certified.

“We are timing our biofuel-powered flight close to Earth Day to emphasize the contribution that biofuels are expected to make in helping the aviation industry meet its targeted reduction in emissions,” said Robert Deluce, President and Chief Executive Officer, Porter Airlines. “Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft are already among the ‘greenest’ aircraft in the world and the use of biofuel will make the aircraft even more environmentally conscious.”

Porter’s biofuel-powered revenue flight will utilize a 50/50 blend of biofuel with Jet A1 fuel.The biofuel portion is derived from the oilseed crop, Camelina sativa* (49 per cent) and Brassica carinata* (one per cent). “The two-hour preparatory flight was flawless and the bio-derived fuel performed as expected,” said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “During the flight, the Q400 aircraft successfully undertook several maneuvers including engine-out climbs, rapid engine accelerations and cruising to verify the performance of the aircraft while using the bio-derived fuel.”

Other key partners in the biofuel program, which was first announced in 2010, include Saskatchewan-based Targeted Growth Canada (TGC), the producer of the crop of Camelina sativa and Pratt & Whitney Canada, the manufacturer of thePW150A engines that power the Q400 aircraft. Funding for the program is being provided by the partners as well as by the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN).

Further details regarding Porter’s biofuel-powered revenue flight will be released in the coming weeks.

SkyNRG, the Amsterdam-based global market maker in sustainable jet fuel has supplied LAN Chile and Air BP Copec for its first commercial flight with second generation jet fuel.

Amsterdam, Santiago March 7, 2012-. The flight, which operated between the Chilean cities of Santiago and Concepcion, was conducted on an Airbus from the A320 family with CFM56-5B motors.

The flight ended with an event held in the city of Concepcion, which was attended by Government and local authorities, and also by LAN, SkyNRG and Air BP Copec executives.

Chief Executive Officer of LAN, Ignacio Cueto said: “This flight represents a key step towards the future of the industry. At LAN we aim to develop sustainable biofuels for commercial aircraft with a high production potential in South America. Currently, these renewable energy sources play a significant role in global aviation and will affect, increasingly, decision-making in the industry and our company. We want to be pioneers in the use of renewable fuels in South America.”

Managing Director of SkyNRG Dirk Kronemeijer commented: “We are proud to deliver our sustainable jet fuel for this first commercial flight to the most important airline in South America and we are convinced this launch will help accelerate commercial volumes in this part of the world. We will do what it takes to help make that happen.”

Full Press Release

Amstelveen | 21 February 2012

The purpose of this series of flights is to demonstrate that it is possible to mix sustainable biofuel on a serie of scheduled flights. Herewith, KLM wants to stimulate the developments in the field of sustainable airtraffic. This is done in collaboration with the WWF. KLM believes that only a sustainable alternative to current fossil kerosene actually leads to reduction of CO2 emissions in the medium term.  For this purpose,  since late 2007 KLM is doing research for sustainably produced biofuels * and hopes that more parties will follow its example in order to decrease the price of biofuel.
The four daily flights are operated on fuel mixed with some biofuel. The biofuel is made from discarded frying oil and developed and delivered by SkyNRG, from which KLM is co-initiator. Already 7 years in a row AIR FRANCE KLM is sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

* A biofuel is considered durable when its cultivation is not at the expense of food production, biodiversity and does not lead to deforestation, overuse of water and pesticides. In addition, there are also various social criteria.

More information:
KLM Media Relations, tel. (+31)20 – 649 45 45 or mediarelations@klm.com

taken from: KLM

]]> http://skynrg.com/2012/02/new-biofuel-flights-for-klm/feed/ 0 http://skynrg.com/2012/01/skynrg-serves-first-middle-eastern-airline-etihad-airways-via-boeing-%e2%80%9cfuel-from-the-factory%e2%80%9d-option/ http://skynrg.com/2012/01/skynrg-serves-first-middle-eastern-airline-etihad-airways-via-boeing-%e2%80%9cfuel-from-the-factory%e2%80%9d-option/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:40:14 +0000 bram-author http://skynrg.com/2012/01/skynrg-serves-first-middle-eastern-airline-etihad-airways-via-boeing-%e2%80%9cfuel-from-the-factory%e2%80%9d-option/ SkyNRG, the Amsterdam-based global market maker in sustainable jet fuel has supplied its first customer via a “fuel-from the factory ” option made possible with U.S. partners EPIC Aviation and Boeing.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates becomes the first airline to fly directly from an airplane manufacturer on biofuel and also the first Middle Eastern carrier to fly on sustainable bio-derived jet fuel.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer commented: “Today’s flight marks a significant milestone in our efforts to support and drive the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel in Abu Dhabi, the region, and globally. However, the use of a presently available biofuel is just one part of a more comprehensive long-term biofuel strategy to ensure that we are able to use biofuels to decarbonise substantially an entire industry sector in the long term.”

“We think the Middle East has great potential to give a critical boost towards making a market for sustainable jet fuel that is affordable. With this flight Etihad Airways has taken a fantastic step, particularly in increasing awareness within the region. There is a lot more to come in this continent and we are determined to be there when that happens.” Says Dirk Kronemeijer, Managing Director SkyNRG.

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SkyNRG has already contracted more than 10 airline customers covering all continents in the world. THAI is SkyNRG’s first Asia Pacific customer and sixth publicly announced airline customer after KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Finnair, Thomson Airways, Air-France and Alaska Airlines.

THAI and SkyNRG also signed a statement together indicating their long term commitment to actively participate in creating a market for sustainable jet fuel that is affordable.

Mr. Piyasvasti Amranand, President of THAI states: “THAI believes sustainable jet fuel will play an important role in the transition to a sustainable future for aviation and is willing do its part. We intend to make sustainable jet fuel an integral part of our strategy. We support the SkyNRG “market making” business model of demand aggregation. Structural demand for sustainable jet fuel will translate into stakeholder engagement and lower prices in the (near) future”

“We think the Asia Pacific continent has great potential to give a critical boost towards making the market for sustainable jet fuel that is affordable. In this roadmap THAI has made a fantastic step today. But there is a lot more to come in this continent and we are determined to be there when that happens” says Dirk Kronemeijer, Managing Director SkyNRG.

About SkyNRG
SkyNRG’s mission is to help create a sustainable future for aviation through actively developing a sustainable production chain for alternative aviation fuels. Today the market for these fuels is just emerging; SkyNRG is taking the first steps to make it a reality.
After two years of research and development the company has created a one-stop shop for airlines integrating the complete supply chain for sustainable jet fuels. From feedstock-to-flight, the supply chain covers elements such as strict selection of sustainable feedstock, refining contracts, distribution to any airport in the world, quality assurance, in to plane fuel service, insurance, marketing and project (co) funding with airports and end customers.

SkyNRG does not commit to one single feedstock or technology. The sustainability of alternative aviation fuels depends on many factors and has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. To make the right decisions now and in the future, SkyNRG is advised by an independent Sustainability Board, consisting of the Dutch wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL), Solidaridad, and the Copernicus Institute of Utrecht University. Next to that, SkyNRG strives for harmonisation on certification of sustainable jet fuel and therefore actively supports the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.

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Alaska will be the first U.S. airline to use sustainable jet fuel on regularly scheduled commercial flights. The airline is conducting this project to raise awareness of the need for an adequate, affordable and sustainable supply of alternative commercial aviation fuel. Sustainable Jet fuel will help the airline industry reach its goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.

“Partnering with SkyNRG and Epic on this project was a true demonstration of our collective will and commitment,” said Jay Long, Alaska Airlines’ director of fuel administration. “Despite numerous challenges along the way, we never lost sight of our overall goal of raising awareness of the need to support a sustainable and affordable aviation fuel alternative within the U.S. airline industry.”

“We have tried to make the entry barrier for airlines to embrace this new fuel era as low as possible“ says  SkyNRG’s Managing Director Dirk Kronemeijer. “Being selected as supplier for Alaska Airlines proves that we are on the right track to help create this industry in North America together with our great partner EPIC Aviation LLC. As from today we are open for any request on sustainable jet fuel out of more than 400 Airport locations in North America”

“We’re proud to have been a part of a new aspect of the aviation fuel market and look forward to work together with SkyNRG to serve US and Canadian customers seeking to use sustainable jet fuel now and in the future ” said David Zanussi, Vice President Commercial Sales at EPIC Aviation.

The biofuels used, were produced out of used cooking oil in a Louisiana plant by Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture of Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corporation.

About EPIC Aviation

EPIC Aviation, LLC is an aviation fuel supplier with primary operations throughout the US and Canada. EPIC’s supply network of nearly 400 locations utilizes major refineries, pipelines, railcars and terminals to serve over 4,000 diverse customers including Airlines, Cargo Operators, Business Aviation Flight Departments, Fixed Base Operators and Resellers. EPIC specializes in innovative customer solutions and industry leading fuel quality assurance programs.

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Sustainable biofuels
Using biokerosene is a necessity if aviation is to become more sustainable. Industry-wide fuel efficiency will also contribute enormously. KLM has been working towards developing biofuel since 2007. To this end, KLM joined forces with the North Sea Group and Spring Associates to establish SkyNRG in 2009. These parties cooperate actively in the drive to develop a sustainable production chain for biofuels for aviation. They are open to using different raw materials to create the end product, providing they satisfy various sustainability criteria including a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions and minimising the negative impact on biodiversity and food supplies. In order to make the right choices in the future, SkyNRG is advised by an independent sustainability board, comprising representatives from WWF Netherlands, Solidaridad and the Copernicus Institute of the University of Utrecht.

Cooperation between KLM and WWF Netherlands
The renewed cooperation with WWF Netherlands should lead to an international breakthrough for sustainable biofuels for aviation. KLM and WWF Netherlands hope to unify international parties in a drive to get this market off the ground. What’s more, KLM will provide substantial financial support for a number of nature conservation projects initiated by WWF Netherlands. These projects will be specified further in the forthcoming period.

CO2 approach
The renewed contract between KLM and WWF Netherlands includes concrete, measurable agreements about the CO2 approach in the short term. Over a four-year period, KLM will be investing in measures to reinforce its position as an international leader in CO2 efficiency and fuel savings. By 2020, KLM hopes to have achieved a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions for every tonne kilometre flown in comparison with the figures for 2009.
“For seven consecutive years, KLM has been the sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index,” says Camiel Eurlings, Managing Director KLM. “Everyone at KLM has worked hard to achieve this. KLM has itself developed numerous initiatives in diverse areas: from special resistance-reducing paint to lightweight trolleys and tableware, and from a fuel efficiency programme to new engine washing technology. Despite economic uncertainties, KLM continues to invest in making the airline industry more sustainable. KLM has taken the lead for many years in reducing CO2 emissions in aviation and stimulating innovations in the field of biofuels. We attach a great deal of importance to cooperating with WWF Netherlands in this area.”
“We cannot afford to continue burning fossil fuels if we want future generations to be able to inherit the earth,” says Johan van de Gronden. “Greenhouse gases from coal, oil and gas are amongst the most important causes of climate change and therefore pose a significant threat to nature and mankind. The only way to prevent the planet from overheating is to generate all energy from renewable sources. It should be possible to supply fully sustainable power by 2050. KLM shares this vision and assumes responsibility for its actions.”