British airline goes biofuels

Thomson Airways, essentially a holiday airline, will begin using biofuels on selected routes between the UK and Spain this month, making it the initial UK-based carrier to use sustainable fuels in its fleet.

The airline will operate the UK's first biofuel flight from Birmingham (UK) to Palma (Majorca, Spain), on 28 July, once its testing process has been completed and final safety clearance has been received.

Weekly flights will follow on the same route from September.  Thomson plans to operate the flight to Palma for a year and switch to the Birmingham – Alicante route in winter.

The selected flights will operate on a 50% blend “Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids” (HEFA) fuel in both engines with 50% Jet A1 fuel.  The HEFA fuel will be produced from used cooking oil.

The fuel will be supplied by Dutch firm SkyNrg, which was founded by the Air France/KLM Group, fuel supplier North Sea Group and consultancy group Spring Associates. See last week’s AERBT

In 2012 Thomson Airways will become the first British airline to operate the Boeing 787.

As sustainable biofuels become more commercially viable, Thomson Airways plans to expand its use of sustainable biofuels across its fleet over the next three years. http://flights.thomson.co.uk

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