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Virgin Atlantic 747 Flight Uses Eco-Friendly Jet Fuel Made From Waste Emissions

Oct. 03, 2018
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2 min read
Heathrow Airport - Stock
Virgin Atlantic 747 Flight Uses Eco-Friendly Jet Fuel Made From Waste Emissions
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Air travel is notoriously bad for the environment. But, Virgin Atlantic, Boeing and emissions recycling company LanzaTech have partnered to change that.

Wednesday's Virgin Atlantic Flight VS16 from Orlando to London Gatwick will be the inaugural commercial flight powered by jet fuel made from recycled waste carbon gases. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson will be on hand to welcome the Boeing 747 upon arrival.

LanzaTech takes waste carbon-rich gases from steel making and other heavy industrial processes and converts them into ethanol, which is then used to make jet fuel. LanzaTech's fuel was approved for use up to a 50/50 mix with traditional fossil jet fuel by the ASTM International committee, an organization responsible for evaluating and setting technical standards across a wide range of materials, products, systems and services. The fuel, which has a comparable market price to traditional fossil fuel, has undergone extensive testing and review by all aircraft manufacturers and other specialists, performing comparably to or better than 100% traditional fossil fuel across a full range of performance and safety metrics.

The company hopes to open three commercial plants by 2025, which would produce up to 125 million gallons of sustainable fuel per year — enough to fly all Virgin Atlantic’s UK outbound flights as a 50/50 mix. LanzaTech's technology would also save nearly one million tons of life-cycle carbon that traditionally is difficult to recycle or reuse, while injecting thousands of jobs across the supply chain market and providing important trade import and export potential. All of these benefits will be extremely beneficial to the UK in a post-Brexit Britain. If expanded further, LanzaTech anticipates that its technology, rolled out worldwide to around 65% of the world’s total steel mills, could produce enough fuel to meet approximately 20% of the world's current demand for commercial jet fuel.

Featured image by PA Images via Getty Images

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  • Solid welcome bonus

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
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  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
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