Air New Zealand to scrap 747 used in biofuels test flight

In New Zealand, it was disclosed in jaunted.com that Air New Zealand is preparing to send the 747-400 used last year in biofuel flight tests to the scrapyard. The use of drop-in fuels in the flight test meant that no specific modifications were made to the jet, and the decision does not affect the timetable of any future conversion of Air New Zealand to biofuels.

The plane has been available for sale without any offers since the December flight test. The 747 will likely make one final flight to its disassembly point; no word from Air New Zealand on the fuels that will be used for the biofuel flight pioneer.

Last month, the airline announced that the engines running B50 blended biofuels in a December flight test saved 1.2 percent on fuel use as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60-75 percent, or 4.5 tons.

The airline said that it could save 1.43 tonnes of fuel on a 12-hour flight using a 50/50 blend of jatropha and conventional Jet A1 fuel. The airline added that it will contribute the flight data to a variety of organizations studying the potential of biofuels in aviation.

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