Later this week Dragonair, which is part of the Cathay Pacific Group, will become the first carrier to operate a commercial international flight from Mainland China using a biofuel blend.
A Rolls-Royce powered Airbus A330-300 is set to fly from Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport to Hong Kong on Saturday, using a 50:50 blend of fossil-based jet fuel and a bio-based fuel refined from used cooking oil as feedstock. Dragonair expects the fuel blend to reduce emissions by around 25 tonnes, as well as serve to demonstrate the Group's commitment to sustainable aviation biofuels as a part of achieving its corporate target of carbon-neutral growth by 2020. Cathay Pacific recently took a stake in US biofuel company Fulcrum BioEnergy, not only for environmental reasons but also as a sustainable business venture, said Biofuel Manager Jeff Ovens.
