Geneva, 19 September 2016 – The use of sustainable alternative jet fuel was given yet another boost today as JetBlue announced its intention to start using this renewable energy source for flights from New York from 2019 in a decade-long off-take agreement. Deployment of this new fuel is a key part of aviation industry commitments to reduce its climate change impact.
The Executive Director of the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group, Michael Gill, said: “JetBlue is joining a group of industry-leading airlines which are taking the bold, but smart choice to put themselves at the forefront of our sector’s climate action. They should be warmly congratulated for making that choice. We have demonstrated that aviation can collaborate to improve efficiency and indeed a flight you take today will produce around half the CO2 that the same flight would have in 1990. This has been achieved with the introduction of new technology aircraft and improvements in operational and infrastructure efficiency.”
“Whilst we continue to deploy those methods, we also need to look towards the future. In the coming weeks, governments will hopefully support a global agreement on capping aviation’s next CO2 emissions from 2020 through an offsetting scheme for international aviation – the world’s first for any global sector. For the long-term, sustainable aviation fuels will play a fundamental role. Whilst the quantity of sustainable alternative jet fuel currently being used by airlines is small, this is a relatively recent development for aviation and it is encouraging to see more and more airlines playing a leadership role in getting this new energy source into daily operation.”
Following eight years of exhaustive testing and certification processes, in February this year, Oslo Airport become the first to supply airlines with alternative fuels for regular daily flights. Los Angeles Airport soon followed and today’s news will ensure that John F Kennedy and other New York airports also come on stream from 2019. The industry anticipates further similar announcements to follow in the near future.
Gill commented: “The airlines that have signed substantial off-take agreements on alternative fuel are helping the whole industry by kick-starting this move to renewable energy. Today’s announcement by JetBlue joins United Airlines, Lufthansa, KLM, Cathay Pacific, FedEx and Southwest Airlines in making significant commitments to the future of the industry through alternative fuels. We applaud their vision!”
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