Airbus delivers plane to JetBlue using renewable fuel

Airbus SE (EPA:AIR) is on Thursday delivering an A321 aircraft to New York airline JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:JBLU) using a 15.5% renewable jet fuel blend, the companies said.

The delivery flight marks JetBlue's first flight powered by a biofuel blend. This is also the first plane that Airbus delivers from its facility in Mobile, Alabama that is partially powered by renewable jet fuel. Airbus will deliver four more A321 aircraft to JetBlue from this facility by the end of 2018, with all of the customer acceptance and delivery flights to be fuelled with renewables.

The fuel blend was provided by Airbus and certified by Air BP.

After the deliveries to JetBlue, Airbus could offer the option of using sustainable fuel to more customers taking deliveries from Mobile. Customers receiving aircraft from Toulouse, France have been offered this option since May 2016.

The aircraft maker's longer-term ambition is to support industrial production of sustainable aviation fuels in the southeastern US.

"Our goal is to source sustainable fuels in the southeastern United States. It is an opportunity to work closely with local stakeholders to scale-up production and the commercialization of sustainable aviation fuels in the region," Frederic Eychenne, head of new energies at Airbus, said.

JetBlue chief executive Robin Hayes said that cooperation between all parts of the industry is needed to ensure a sustainable future for aviation.

In 2016, the airline agreed an offtake deal with SJ Preston for renewable jet fuel at New York's JFK Airport.

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