Across the world, Friday and the date of 13 have been linked with some real bad omens and while that is largely due to the careful work of Hollywood in fabricating and furthering this notion, for Qantas and environmentalists who have been crying out for more eco-friendly airline carriers, it is a day that offers plenty of promise. March 13th will be the day when Qantas will fly its first ever biofuel-powered flight and Qantas is pretty confident that everything is in place for this historical first.
The planned carrier though will only be partially propelled using biofuel. One of its two engines will be carrying a 50 percent mix of a specially crafted fuel that is made from cooking oil. Obviously this is just the test phase and Qantas will closely monitor the performance and should give is the statistics when it comes to emission reduction and fuel efficiency. The major factor here will be the fuel cost and at the moment this special biofuel still costs a lot more than it should.
In that regard Qantas expects to get help from researchers, the government and the private sector in the months to come to ensure that it can go down the biofuel path. There will need to be an overall improvement in the biofuel technology and world governments need to subsidize it for airlines if we wish to encourage them to fly with the intention of keeping the skies clean. For now though, if you are planning a trip to Adelaide somewhere near this date, then tickets are available for you to be a part of this special flight. And do not worry too much, as it is as safe as any other flight trip that you embark on.
Via: Dailytelegraph
