KLM is to begin a series of biofuel-powered flights between Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle in September.
The Dutch carrier will operate more than 200 flights between the two cities using Boeing 737s fuelled by a mixture of standard kerosene and a biofuel derived from used cooking oil.
The SkyTeam alliance member previously carried out a November 2009 demonstration flight of a Boeing 747 partly powered by a biofuel derived from the camelina plant.
A spokeswoman said today that it had not abandoned camelina, but a priority was finding a fuel for which there was adequate feedstock. September's planned flights are part of the airline's continuing search for the best available biofuel.
It was open to using different raw materials to create biofuel supplies, as long as they met a range of sustainability criteria, including substantial reductions in CO2 emissions and minimum negative impact on biodiversity and food supplies.
The new biofuel will be produced by Dynamic Fuels and supplied by SkyNRG, a consortium launched by KLM and North Sea Group and Spring Associates that is developing a sustainable supply chain for aviation biofuels.
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Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
