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Virgin Atlantic’s 100% SAF flight cut over 60% of emissions
Virgin Atlantic and its partners have published findings on its Flight100 project – the first commercial flight across the Atlantic powered by 100% SAF on a Boeing 787, using Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
The flight took place on 28 November 2023 and did not require any engine, airframe or fuel infrastructure changes
The flight followed more than a year of collaboration with Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, ICF and Rocky Mountain Institute.
The SAF flight was part funded by Department for Transport and approved by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the US Federal Aviation Authority.
They have now published results from the flight.
The flight saved 95 tonnes of CO2, or 64% of the emissions produced from a standard flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK.
Additionally, there was a 40% reduction in non-CO2 particulate emissions and an improved overall fuel burn efficiency of the SAF flight.
Flight100 SAF produced 1% more energy compared to the same mass of fossil fuel.
The additional efficiency initiatives including direct routing and reduced taxi time resulted in 2.2 tonnes of jet fuel saving, or 4% of overall fuel burn, it says.
Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic CEO said: “Flight100 was more than a year in the making. Virgin Atlantic is committed to finding new solutions, and leading efforts to decarbonise our industry.”
“We have demonstrated that it can be done – SAF is a safe drop in replacement for fossil fuel and can be used with today’s infrastructure. We’ve proven that if enough SAF is made, we will fly it.”
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Learn more about : Virgin Atlantic ( United Kingdom )
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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