Virgin Atlantic Flies a 747 from London to Amsterdam partly on Biofuel

On February 24th, Virgin Atlantic flew one of it's Boeing 747 airliners from London to Amsterdam with one engine using a 20% blend of biofuel. Richard Bronson has pledged to invest upwards of $3 billion in renewable energy technologies (story from bbc).

Video copyright Digital News Agency

Many environmental groups are regarding the biofuel jet demonstration as simply a publicity stunt, however it does show a commitment by the airline to push the industry forward in trying to use less fossil fuels. The reality is that air travel is going to continue to increase and finding the most efficient and least fossil-fuel dependent technologies will allow the airlines to better compete in an era where carbon emissions are likely to be regulated.