Summary
- Virgin Atlantic is making history with a transatlantic flight powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel.
- The airline is pushing for greater investment and full-scale production of sustainable aviation fuel.
- Virgin Atlantic’s progressive and boundary-pushing spirit is reflected on this historic flight and its collaboration with stakeholders, including Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
In a short time, UK-based carrier Virgin Atlantic will make history by operating a transatlantic flight powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airline has chosen the Rolls-Royce of transatlantic routes for the occasion, deploying a Boeing 787-9 on a service from London Heathrow (LHR) to Latest York JFK.
Almost ready
Ever since Virgin Atlantic announced its plans to operate a 100% SAF-powered flight from the Big Smoke to the Big Apple earlier within the month, excitement has been constructing for the occasion. In line with Flightradar24, the aptly-numbered flight VS100 will depart London at 11:30 local time, and arrive in Latest York eight hours and 20 minutes later at 14:40. Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss stated that:
“Flight100 proves that Sustainable Aviation Fuel could be used as a protected, drop-in substitute for fossil-derived jet fuel and it’s the one viable solution for decarbonizing long-haul aviation. It’s taken radical collaboration to get here and we’re proud to have reached this necessary milestone, but we’d like to push further.”
Photo: Virgin Atlantic
Weiss adds that “.” He desires to see greater investment into SAF, to ensure that the full-scale production that’s required for a more widespread implementation of such fuel to be achieved. The 100% mix getting used by Virgin Atlantic today consists primarily of Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (88%), with 12% being Synthetic Fragrant Kerosene.
Continuing to push the boundaries
If there was ever going to be a UK airline to operate such a flight, it could be Virgin Atlantic, with the carrier known for pushing the boundaries and doing things a bit in a different way. On a person level, this includes elements equivalent to granting employees greater autonomy over their uniform selections. Nevertheless, it now hopes to innovate on an industry-wide level, with Founder Richard Branson stating that:
“The spirit of innovation is getting on the market and attempting to prove that we will do things higher for everybody’s profit. Virgin Atlantic has been difficult the established order and pushing the aviation industry to never settle and do higher since 1984. Fast forward nearly 40 years, that pioneering spirit continues to be Virgin Atlantic’s beating heart.”
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
Virgin Atlantic has worked with quite a lot of stakeholders with a view to make this a reality. These include Boeing, ICF, Imperial College London, the Rocky Mountain Institute, Rolls-Royce, and the University of Sheffield. It has also received support from the UK Government, with Transport Secretary Mark Harper stating that:
“Today’s historic flight, powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel, shows how we will each decarbonize transport and enable passengers to maintain flying when and where they need. This government has backed today’s flight to take off, and we are going to proceed to support the UK’s emerging SAF industry because it creates jobs, grows the economy, and gets us to Jet Zero.”
The aircraft involved
As mentioned, Virgin Atlantic is using a Boeing 787-9 ‘Dreamliner’ to operate flight VS100 today. In line with Flightradar24, the aircraft in query bears the registration G-VDIA, with data from ch-aviation showing that this 258-seat twinjet is nearly eight years old. Its name, per Planespotters.net, is .
What do you make of this groundbreaking flight? Perhaps you are even onboard today? Tell us your thoughts and experiences within the comments!