Air France-KLM flew a biofuel powered Airbus A350 from Paris to Montreal on Tuesday showing the readiness of the aircraft to adopt low emissions fuel despite deep industry divisions over the pace of its adoption. Air France flight 342 took off from Charles de Gaulle airport with a 16% mix of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its fuel tanks, produced in France by Total from used cooking oil.
The flight showed a shared ambition to decarbonize air transportation and to develop a SAF supply chain in France, the companies said in a joint statement with airport operator ADP. Jet fuel produced from biomass or synthetically from renewable power has the potential to slash carbon emissions albeit at a heavy coast by comparison to the price of kerosene.
Airlines have a major responsibility to cut emissions, Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith said, while reiterating doubts about European SAF quotas for long haul. Transport and Environment, a Brussels based campaign group that signed the budget carriers’ open letter, again rejected calls to exclude long haul from biofuel rules. Green fuel used for the Paris-Montreal flight was produced by Total at its Oudalle plant near Le Havre as well as La Mede, a refinery in southern France converted to biofuels in 2019.