Lufthansa to Begin Biofueled Commercial Flights in 2011

November 29, 2010—Lufthansa will become the first airline to use biofuel on commercial flights when it begins next spring to study the effect of biofuel on engine maintenance and engine life. According to DLR, Germany’s national research center for aeronautics and space, Lufthansa is to begin in April 2011 a six-month trial with an Airbus A321 on scheduled commercial flights on the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Hamburg route. Pending certification, one of the aircraft’s engines will use a 50-50 mix of biofuel and traditional kerosene. Neste Oil, a fuel refining and marketing company from Finland, will produce the biosynthetic kerosene to be used by Lufthansa. Certification of its biofuel is expected in March 2011. During the six-month trial, called burnFAIR, Lufthansa will save around 1,500 tons of Co2 emissions, according to Lufthansa Chief Wolfgang Mayrhuber, who participated in a joint press conference today in Berlin to announce the initiative. “Our ‘burnFAIR’ project is designed to research the long-term alternatives to conventional aviation jet fuel,” said Johann-Dietrich Wörner, chairman of the executive board of the DLR, at the press conference. “The object is to gather data on pollutants from biofuel in comparison with conventional kerosene over a longer period. The measured pollution pattern related to diverse stresses in flight and the composition of the exhaust gases will allow us not only to draw conclusions about the compatibility of biofuel but also about the maintenance needs of aircraft engines. Since, above all, we expect a significant reduction in soot particles.” Wörner said Lufthansa is currently making intensive preparations for the practical tests. Aside from the actual research project, the acquisition of biofuel in sufficient volume and the complex logistics it involves is proving a challenge. The aircraft, for example, will be fuelled only in Hamburg. Furthermore, an array of internal processes must be modified, since Lufthansa does not normally deploy a plane exclusively on a single route, but always in a rotation chain on flights to different destinations. The project will cost Lufthansa an estimated 6.6 million Euros, or about $8.7 million. “We are doing pioneering work…” said Mayrhuber. “Our fuel is sustainable. No rain forest will be deforested for Lufthansa biofuel. In the procurement of biofuel, we ensure it originates from a sustainable supply and production process. Our licensed suppliers must provide proof of the sustainability of their processes.”

In April 2011, Lufthansa is to begin a six-month trial with an Airbus A321 on scheduled commercial flights on the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Hamburg route. Pending certification, one of the aircraft’s engines will use a 50-50 mix of biofuel and traditional kerosene. Photo credit: Lufthansa Bildarchiv

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