Continental Airlines, Boeing and GE Aviation Plan Biofuel Flight

Continental Airlines, Boeing and engine maker GE Aviation have scheduled a biofuel demonstration flight for early 2009 as part of the ongoing effort in the aviation industry to identify sustainable alternative fuels.

The Continental Airlines flight will be Boeing's third joint biofuel demonstration with an airline. Continental Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to make such a move in promoting the use of sustainable biofuels in aviation, an emerging trend gaining momentum as crude oil prices shoot through the roof.

In February 2008, Boeing and Virgin Atlantic Airways flew a 747 from London to Amsterdam with one of its four engines powered by a mix of 80% jet fuel and 20% biofuel based on coconut and babassu oil. Boeing, Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce plan to conduct another biofuel demonstration flight for the second half of 2008 using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. These tests are part of an industry wide effort to find a biofuel that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

While the Virgin Atlantic Airways flight proved biofuel is a viable alternative fuel for the airline industry, the main focus is on the raw materials that go in to produce these biofuels. Critics maintain using eatable food as source for biofuels will exacerbate global food shortage and serves to raise food prices worldwide. Others oppose to the idea as the common alternative fuels based on corn, soybean and palm oil require enormous amounts of water and land to produce.

While the partners are working to identify sustainable fuel sources that don't impact food crops, water resources or contribute to deforestation, the airline industry is focusing on the second-generation biofuels based on marginal or experimental crops such as algae, switch grass and jatropha.

The airline industry, which accounts for 2% of global carbon emissions, is high on the watch list of environmentalists and regulators concerned about global warming. A viable biofuel would certainly be the Holy Grail of the airline industry, whose carbon footprint is poised to grow as demand for air travel increases. Besides the soaring fuel costs, government-mandated greenhouse-gas emission limits could make flying airplanes more costly. The International Air Transport Association has proposed building a zero-emissions aircraft within 50 years and many experts feel the lofty goal is unattainable. But, with increased use of biofuels in combination of other measures, they feel emissions could be kept in check.

The upcoming Continental Airlines biofuel flight will use a Boeing Next-Generation 737 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines, using a blend of between 20%-50% of a second-generation biofuel in one engine.

The CFM56-7B engine is used exclusively for the Boeing 737-600, 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900. More than 4,000 CFM56-7B engines are in service and more than 500 airlines fly CFM56-7B-powered 737s. Since entering service in the mid-90s, they have accumulated more than 50 million flight hours.

In the months leading up to the flight, Continental Airlines, Boeing and GE Aviation will work with an undisclosed fuel provider to identify sustainable fuel sources which can be produced in sufficient quantities. No details on the fuel are available, but the second-generation fuel, that does not impact food production, will have to be production ready in quantities sufficient to support a pre-flight test schedule and mix seamlessly with kerosene aviation fuel (Jet-A).

Continental is the first major US carrier to engage in such flight testing to highlight technological advancements in sustainable biofuels that can help to reduce carbon emissions. The Company is hoping the upcoming test flight will underscore their “commitment to environmental responsibility”. In the last 10 years, Continental Airlines has reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel consumption by 35% by investing $12 billion in new fuel-efficient aircrafts and streamlining operations.

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