Air New Zealand and Boeing have set December 3rd as the date for a test flight powered partially by biofuel, the companies said.
An Air New Zealand 747-400 jetliner leaving from Auckland will burn, in one of its four engines, a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and fuel made from jatrohpa oil. Jatropha trees, which can be grown on marginal lands, produce inedible nuts that are high in oil.
Boeing spokesman Terrance Scott said one purpose of the flight is to prove that enough jatropha fuel can be sourced at an economical cost. The biofuel for the flight was made from jatropha trees on lands where other crops could not be grown in India and southeastern Africa.
Airlines are not able to burn ethanol as an alternative fuel because it freezes too easily.
Reuters