Braathens Regional Airlines, Air BP, ATR and Neste Collaborate to Achieve the ‘Perfect Flight’

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Sweden, a “perfect flight” took off. What exactly is a “perfect flight”? For some of you, it might mean wingsuit flying done by daring humans but for Neste, it’s when “Every element of the flight management process has been optimised to keep carbon emissions to a minimum.”

So what made this regional flight from Halmstad City airport to Stockholm Bromma airport in Sweden so perfect?

First, sustainable aviation fuel, produced by Neste and supplied by Air BP, was used to power the ATR 72-600 – the regional aircraft with the best environmental credentials, according to Neste.

“This is the first time that every element in the flight management process on a regional flight has been optimised to keep carbon emissions to a minimum and achieve the ‘Perfect Flight’. A full flight of seventy-two passengers, including international media, were on board the Braathens Regional Airlines ATR 72-600 turboprop, the regional aircraft with the best environmental credentials, which took one hour to reach its destination.”

According to ATR, the ATR 72-600 has an environmental advantage, in that it produces 40 percent fewer carbon emissions per trip compared with regional jets, saving 4,000 tons of carbon emissions per aircraft per year. ATRs can also take off and land where other aircraft cannot ensuring accessibility to all airfields, including those that are the most challenging.

The Perfect Flight was powered by sustainable aviation fuel supplied by Air BP and produced by Neste. The fuel supplied will produce up to 80 percent fewer emissions over its life-cycle compared with conventional jet fuel and is produced from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials. In addition, Air BP’s operations at Halmstad City airport are one of their over 250 locations that have been certified as carbon neutral since 2016.

Following the flight, a responsible aviation seminar was held at Stockholm Bromma airport where the crew shared the results of how the ‘Perfect Flight’ had been achieved. A host of experts shared their views including Peter Larsson – CEO of Sweden’s Regional Airports, Jonas Bergman – Mayor of Halmstad, Tom Anderson – ATR Senior Vice President, Programs and Customer Services, Anna Soltorp – Head of Sustainability, BRA and Tom Parsons, Air BP Commercial Development Manager, Low Carbon, and Andreas Teir, Neste’s Vice President in Renewable Transportation, Nordics.

Soltorp commented: “We want to continue to fly ‘perfectly’ in the future. To achieve this, it is important that we can access sustainable aviation fuel in sufficient quantities and at the right price. For that we need political initiatives. We intend to continue the development of sustainable flying to make every flight as close to perfect as we possibly can. As a society we need to take action to combat climate change and drastically reduce emissions, aviation must play its part in this. Today, we have demonstrated what can be achieved through more efficient flying without compromising connectivity. It is another positive step forward.”

Halmstad City Airport works carefully, dedicatedly and with set environmental and sustainability goals on a daily basis. It was one of the first airports in Sweden to offer customers biojet fuel, which was in June 2017. Also since then, all their ground vehicles used in their business at the airport are 100% fossil free.

As of April 1, 2019, Sweden’s Braathens Regional Airlines is the only commercial airline in the world to compensate for all emissions of GHG, included in the ticket fare. Braathens Regional Airlines offers all travelers the choice of fossil-free biofuel when booking the air travel. Already in 2009, the airline became the world’s first commercial airline, environmentally certified by ISO 14001.

Neste is increasing renewable jet fuel production volumes significantly over the course of the next few years. Currently Neste is ramping up capacity to produce up to 100.000 tons per year total in the US and Europe. With the planned Singapore refinery expansion Neste will have the capacity to produce up to 1 million ton of low-emission renewable jet fuel by 2022. READ MORE

Excerpt from GreenAir Online: Meanwhile, Neste’s MY Renewable Jet Fuel has been presented with an award in respect of reducing black carbon emissions. The Finnish competition was part of a campaign aimed at speeding up emissions reduction, finding new solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing understanding of how black carbon accelerates climate change.

The company said while more detailed research on the impact of renewable aviation fuel on particulate emissions was ongoing, its fuel had good potential to bring about a significant reduction in the amount of black carbon emissions from aviation. NASA research had indicated the reduction could be as high as 70%, it said. READ MORE