Australian biofuels could transform airline industry and create jobs

Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand looking for new partners to source biofuel, amounting to about 5% of total use

This week Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand held a conference with the biofuel industry after joining forces to investigate options for locally produced biojet fuel for their domestic and international routes.

This striking step signals the two airlines' intention to aggregate their purchasing power in order to reduce their reliance on a single fuel, while at the same time significantly reducing their carbon emissions. Jet fuel, a petroleum distillate, has been used to power air travel since the first flights in the 1940s because of its high-energy density and thermal stability. And each year, the world's airlines burn about 300bn litres, which represents about 10% of global oil consumption.