Virgin Airlines to Transition to more Sustainable Fuel Source

I read an article from GreenBiz.com titled "Ready for liftoff? Virgin poised for commercial flight using waste based biofuel". I was instantly drawn in by the title because I fly frequently and I know air travel is a huge part of my carbon footprint. My highlights from the article include 

  • October 3, 2018 Virgin Airlines flight from Orlando to London was run on recycled waste carbon gases.
  • Fuel is made by LanzaTech from recycled industrial gases and turns it into ethanol.
  •  The new fuel has a 70% carbon lifecycle savings. Normal jet fuel has no savings. 
  • If all of Virgin Airline flights that depart form Britain used 50% mix of new fuel almost one million tons of carbon would be saved every year. 
I found this article interesting because when I tested my ecological footprint carbon was a huge contributor. I do a lot flying for soccer and personal pleasure but I do feel the guilt of the environmental repercussions. It has always been strange to me that we have yet to find a solid way to make air travel more eco-friendly. Virgin Airlines is clearly trying to make leaps towards being more sustainable which I think is awesome but, I also wonder what these changes come with. It would be radical if Virgin could deliver all of its flights with a reduced carbon footprint. People could still travel as they please with the bonus of being more sustainable. Creating sustainability as an added bonus is key but does this fuel come with higher ticket prices? If so can Virgin market their sustainable flights in a way that convinces people the green tax is worth it? I believe that Virgin Airlines could take control of the sustainable aviation marketplace by catering to the classic flight experience with less environmental guilt. Virgin could offer the same flight experience but with the benefit of less ecological impact therefore, giving consumers what they want plus a sustainability bonus. The article did leave me with a lot of unanswered questions about the potential of this new biofuel. The article did not offer any concrete goals Virgin has made for this biofuel which I would have appreciated. 

 

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