Lufthansa is launching the world’s first ever scheduled commercial passenger flights using bio-fuel in the first half of 2011, with an IAE (International Aero Engines) powered Airbus A321 aircraft. The daily flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt, will be the first in the world to use a bio-fuel blend made from 50 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). When it is consumed, fuel made from bio-mass material emits the CO2 it naturally absorbs when it grows, thereby helping neutralize overall CO2 emissions.
The daily flights will begin in April 2011 and will initially continue for a period of six months as part of the Burn Fair project to study the long-term impact of sustainable bio-fuels on aircraft performance. Airbus’ role is to provide technical assistance and to monitor the fuel properties.
The bio-fuel is being provided by Finland based Neste Oil, under a long-term agreement with Lufthansa. The fuel will only be produced from sustainable feedstock sources to make sure that the bio-feedstock does not compete for food, water nor land.