Qatar flies on natural gas

QATAR AIRWAYS made history last week by completing the world's first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas.  The historic flight from Gatwick to Doha took over six hours and was operated with an Airbus A340-600 aircraft using Rolls-Royce Trent 556 engines.  Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker was onboard the busy flight and passengers were pre-warned, with no cancellations.  Shell developed and produced the 50-50 blend of synthetic Gas to Liquids (GTL) kerosene and conventional oil-based kerosene fuel.  The State of Qatar is set to become the world's leading producer of GTL kerosene when it is put into commercial production from 2012.  The fuel, as an alternative to conventional oil-based kerosene, will contribute to diversification of aviation fuel supply.  It also burns with lower sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions than pure conventional oil-based kerosene, making it attractive for improving local air quality at busy airports. www.qatarairways.com

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