Virgin Atlantic shares results of 100% SAF transatlantic flight

In the UK, Virgin Atlantic has shared headline results from Flight100, the first transatlantic flight on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), proving not only that the SAF used for the flight is safe to use with existing infrastructure and delivers material reductions in CO2, but can also improve local air quality, contribute to a reduction on persistent contrail formation and reduce fuel use.

Flight100, which flew from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 28 November 2023, was the world’s first commercial aircraft operating across the Atlantic on 100% SAF, on a Boeing 787, using Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The flight did not require any engine, airframe or fuel infrastructure changes and operated on safety standards equivalent to every other commercial flight.

The flight followed more than a year of radical collaboration by a Virgin Atlantic led consortium including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, ICF and Rocky Mountain Institute, was part funded by Department for Transport and approved by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other regulators including the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

The consortium published headline results from the flight including:

·      A full lifecycle analysis – showing a saving of 95 metric tons of CO2, or 64% of the emissions produced from a standard flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK. That’s the equivalent of 54 cars off road for a year, or the energy consumption of 33 UK homes

·      Additional benefits of SAF beyond carbon reductions – with a 40% reduction in non-CO2 particulate emissions. This suggests the use of SAF could have a material impact on improving local air quality at airports and reducing the formation of persistent contrails

·      An improved overall fuel burn efficiency of SAF – Flight100 SAF produced 1% more energy compared to the same mass of fossil fuel. This efficiency means a reduction of the fuel used in flight which will bring further  environmental benefits.

·      Operational efficiencies to reduce fuel burn – the CO2 savings achieved through efficiency initiatives including direct routing and reduced taxi time resulted in 2.2 tons of jet fuel saving, or 4% of overall fuel burn, which if applied to every Virgin Atlantic flight for a year would be enough fuel saved to fill 24 Olympic sized swimming pools

·      Verification of contrail forecasting models which, through continued work led by RMI’s Contrail Impact Task Force, could lead to operational measures that reduce contrail formation and climate impact

Building on the success of Flight100, industry must continue to radically collaborate for aviation to use SAF on all flights globally. Following the release of the headline results, a consortium led technical deep dive will take place on June 3, 2024. This is a further step to ensure open-source information sharing – a fundamental element of the project.