Airlines Push for Reliable Source for Fuel

Airlines are heavily dependent upon a reliable supply of high quality fuel for daily operations. The price and supply instability of crude oil-based fuels is becoming a problem for airline operators.

Boeing and Air New Zealand later this year will test a biofuel made from the oil-rich seeds of the jatropha tree, a Mexican plant that grows in warm climates. Other synthetic fuel tests will follow on Continental Airlines and Japan Airlines flights. In February, Boeing partnered with Virgin Atlantic to test a flight that included a biofuel mixture of babassu oil, which comes from a palm tree in northern Brazil, and coconut oil.

"We're looking for something that is so correct in its performance that it can be interchanged with petroleum-based kerosene," Glover said. "From a distribution standpoint, from a technical standpoint, it needs to fit without modifications or special handling."...

More fuel sources could temper the effect oil speculation has on gas prices, and they could give carriers fuel at a cost they can count on, she said. But "you aren't going to find a fuel that's pennies on the dollar than what we find today," she said.

For travelers, that means that fewer flight options and charges for checked bags, drinks and other items are here to stay.

"Even if we were to double the volume we were to make in biofuels every year for the next 10 years, we're still looking at maybe this will impact 15 percent of the overall fuel supply," said Brian Fan, Cleantech's senior director of research.

"Realistically, for anything to be happening at scale, enough to actually impact an airline's bottom line, we're years away," Fan said. _AP_via_Biofuelsdigest

Realistically, it will be ten years before biofuels are supplying at least 10% of transportation fuels for airlines and ground fleets. Still, 10% reduction in petro-fuel demands will have a substantial impact on the national revenues of Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and all the other bloody tyrants who happen to be sitting on a load of underground oil.

Many people will not forget that Nancy Pelosi and Borbara Boxer are largely responsible for the squeeze that US and western businesses find themselves in. It is unlikely that they and their cronies will get off scot-free when all is said and done.