Loading ...As the price of oil remains at record heights, airlines are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with their soaring fuel bills. British Airways, however, is trying to address this problem, as well as environmental concerns, by considering alternative fuel options. Earlier today it announced that it would enter into a partnership with Rolls Royce in order to speed up this process. As the first step in this project, the United Kingdom’s flag carrier and Rolls Royce will cooperate in developing a detailed study on the potential use of alternative fuels for the commercial aviation industry.
British Airways will also be enlisting the participation of companies that specialize in alternative fuels and will ask each of them to provide samples of their product, which will then be tested on the Rolls Royce engines that power many of the airline’s planes, including the Boeing 747, which flies on popular long-haul routes. Only four suppliers of alternative fuel will actually be short-listed as part of this BA-Rolls Royce study and those that are will be asked to offer the carrier up to 60,000 liters of fuel for testing purposes. Both companies have already indicated that they are not only looking for cheaper fuel options, but also ones that would help limit the airline industry’s negative impact on the environment, by reducing CO2 emissions. Jonathon Counsell, British Airways’ head of environmental issues, observed that if these test prove to be successful, the current study would contribute “enormously” to the reduction of carbon emissions in the airline industry.
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