Virgin Atlantic has won the first net-zero transatlantic flight bid

Virgin Atlantic (VS) has won a bid to receive government funding for the first ever net-zero transatlantic flight. This flight will take place from London Heathrow to New York John F Kennedy Airport. The VS flight will solely use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This will be on Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Boeing 787 which are powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. It is worth noting the Trent 1000 engines can be used to power up to 50% SAF alongside kerosene.  

Virgin Atlantic has partnered with Roll-Royce, Boeing and research/academic universities like Imperial College London (ICL) and University of Sheffield. This historic flight will be a joint effect of consortium partners to enable the aviation sector to achieve its carbon neutrality goals by 2050.

London to New York: Connecting us to the world

Flights from London to New York have always been a symbol of aviation’s ability to connect economies, markets and people globally. It has been held as a symbol by airlines at various inaugural occasions. In 1970, Pan American airways operated their first passenger flight flying the Boeing 747 from London to New York. In 1977, British Airways began their first London-New York flights on their Concorde. And in 1984 it was no surprise that Virgin Atlantic operated their first inaugural flight from London to New York. London has always been seen as the gateway to Europe and Asia. And it has connected millions from Europe and Asia to the US. And vice versa.

This special connection of London-New York flights was demonstrated more recently. In 2021, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic carried out inaugural flights with simultaneous take-offs from runway 27R and runway 27L at London Heathrow Airport. This marked the re-opening of US borders to Europe and the rest of the world. Or in other words the US is open for business and back stronger!

In the modern era it is no doubt that the London-New York scheduled flight will be a historic flight as Virgin Atlantic makes history once again by paving the way for a sustainable aviation.

The data from the VS will be incredibly important. This is because this will give industry leaders the ability to analyse and explore operational efficiency and fuel optimisation through a new way of thinking – through the use of 100% SAF. This will be an opportunity for economies, airlines and the aviation to follow suit and broaden their thinking to introduce more sustainable ways of travel.

How will this flight be carbon neutral?

VS aims to use 100% SAF and biochar credits for this long-haul flight.

What is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and how does it work?

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is made from renewable resources and waste material. Biofuel has similar biological properties to those that can be found in conventional jet fuel. However, their carbon footprint is significantly lower. Biofuels can include fats, oils, corn grains, forestry residue or wet wastes. It has shown that SAF reduces carbon emissions by over 70% compared to the traditional jet fuel. In addition to this the use of SAF reduces the production of harmful emissions like sulphur and particulates. Therefore, this makes SAF an invaluable resource in helping economies and airlines make travel sustainable.

How does the sustainability aspect of SAF work? Biofuels, such as plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Similar amounts of CO2 absorbed from the plant is later emitted into the atmosphere (during combustion) – and the key point is that the CO2 emitted is roughly proportional to the CO2 absorbed. This helps aircrafts achieve sustainability in the sense that CO2 emissions from aircrafts balances CO2 absorbed during the production phase.

It’s worth noting SAF is a drop-in fuel which can be blended in with traditional jet fuel. There has been no aircraft that could incorporate 100% SAF into their engines until now.

The challenges facing the use of SAF – insights.

There are many challenges to decarbonise the aviation industry – one of which is the need to scale SAF production and to get SAF to be widely-accepted for use globally. In order for this to be adopted globally a consideration will need to be placed onto current fuel specifications and where SAF fits in with old aircrafts. Virgin will demonstrate they can use 100% SAF in jet aircrafts in collaboration with their consortium partners. However, currently commercial aircrafts can only use 50% SAF as a blend in combination with kerosene.

Whilst the use of SAF will bring great environmental rewards and reduce carbon emissions by 80% for a single flight – the financial benefits for an airline look dim. For example, EASA heavily regulates the use of fuel in aviation – all of which has to be certified for commercial flight. The heavy regulation brings greater expenses to airlines as a result. In addition to this SAF is four times more expensive than traditional fuel. This makes it increasing difficult for airlines to adopt and change fuel strategy purely on environmental merit particularly when airlines already operate on a tight profit margin. And if SAF was to be adopted passengers would most likely feel the brunt of this – through increased fare charges – which would deter passengers from flying with airlines that have adopted SAF. For low-cost airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet this will hinder their low cost airline strategy.

There are other considerations in using SAF. One of which is the high fuel production costs associated with SAF. Second, the availability of feedstock to supply the demand globally. As well as the feasibility and scalability of SAF across the world. An important consideration to make is to ponder whether SAF really brings net-zero carbon emissions. If we factor in the lifecycle emissions of SAF – such as the production emissions, labour costs and transporting fuel to airports – these all tally up their own carbon footprint.

Lastly, it’s key to appreciate the social impact of SAF. If farmers feel more incentivised to produce SAF fuel over crops then what will happen to supply of food globally? This will likely have an impact on global food production and availability. If forestry residue is to be used as SAF – will more trees be cut down to produce SAF? The hot topic of sustainability and future focus on SAF may play a major factor in influencing farmers and landowners to prioritise SAF over food production or deforestation protection.

What is the UK government doing to assist in bring sustainability to the UK aviation sector?

There are many ideas in the pipeline to help bring sustainability to the UK sector, for example:

• Royal Air Force (RAF): Recently the RAF made history as the world’s first military transport jet using 100% SAF.

• 2030 mandate: The UK government is creating a 2030 mandate which will require airlines to ensure 10% of jet fuel used is from sustainable resources.  

• UK to become the global market leader to produce and use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flights through their collaboration with British brand Virgin Atlantic.

Looking to the future: Virgin Atlantic’s commitment

Virgin Atlantic has commitment to blending 10% of SAF in with their traditional jet fuel. This is much sooner than the UK 2030 mandate which will require UK airlines to commit to 10% of the fuel being injected into aircrafts to be SAF.

In addition to this, VS has put into agreement with Delta Airlines to supply VS with 10 million of US gallons (USG) of SAF per year. This agreement is in place for 7 years and will require fuel to be delivered to San Francisco or Los Angeles.

I hope this blog has been beneficial in understanding SAF and the complexities surrounding it. As well as the exciting prospect SAF brings to the aviation industry in order to achieve a ‘net-zero’ carbon footprint.