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Continental Airlines Tests Renewable Jet Fuel

Courtesy Continental

Continental’s biofuel demonstration flight takes off.

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When and if biofuel becomes officially certified for jet engines, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) says, it is ready to fly. The world’s fifth largest airline announced a 1 percent increase in efficiency using fuel derived from algae and Jatropha (the generic name for a variety of succulent plants, shrubs and trees) after a 90-minute demonstration flight in early 2009 in which one engine operated on 100 percent traditional jet fuel while the other used renewable jet fuel. UOP LLC, a Honeywell International Inc. (HON) company, provided the biofuel. The airline explains that biofuel blends seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel, and no modifications to aircraft or engines are necessary. “We are encouraged by the results from our flight, and we look forward to using sustainable alternative fuels when they are certified and commercially available at an economically viable price,” says Leah Raney, Continental’s managing director of global environmental affairs.

Because biofuels are not commercially available, they cost more than conventional jet fuel. But Honeywell says that will even out as demand grows, biofuels become certified and the price of plant materials drops. Continental says it is also testing fuel additives and alternatives in its ground service vehicles, many of which are now electric-powered.