Thaindian News

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) – Mexican flagship carrier Aeromexico on Monday evening made its first transcontinental flight using biofuel, the company said on Tuesday.

The company said the flight from Mexico City to Madrid, which is a distance of 9,073 kilometers (5,637 miles), will prove the use of biofuel for long-distance flights. The Boeing 777-200ER, with capacity for more than 250 passengers, flew with a General Electric motor, which produces 12 percent less carbon dioxide per seat than its closest competitor.

The engine ran with a blend of 70 percent of traditional fuel and 30 percent biofuel, which was provided by Boeing and supplied by the Mexican Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA). Details of the flight were announced in a joint press release from Aeromexico, the Mexican government, and Boeing.

The aviation biofuel which was used for the flight is composed of a mixture of petroleum-derived jet fuel and oil obtained from the Jatropha Curcas plant, which is being produced for the aviation sector in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Puebla, Veracruz, Yucatan and Michoacan.

But the biofuel made at Jatropha is not financially viable yet due to its high production cost. However, if and when the demand increases in the aviation sector, the production costs are expected to diminish, ASA general director stated.

In April, Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet successfully carried out the first biofuel powered flight in the American continent from Mexico City to the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez.