An Environmentally Virginal Relationship

Together with confirmation of their order for 15 Boeing 787's, (plus eight options and 20 purchase rights), Virgin Atlantic announced on 24 April that it had concluded an environmentally friendly partnership with Boeing. The two entities have amiably bonded in order to embark upon a joint biofuel demonstration aimed at developing sustainable fuel sources suitable for commercial jet engines and the aviation industry. This fuelish notion is planned to go down (or rather "up") sometime in 2008, using a Virgin Atlantic 747-400 (sans passengers). GE Aviation and Virgin Fuels will be collaborating upon the project. Boeing and Virgin Atlantic are also to explore more fuel efficiencies for ground operations. Specifically, at this point, an examination of the practicalities of towing airplanes to a starting grid near the runway for engine start has a laudable goal of reducing fuel usage and carbon emissions by up to 50 percent. There are supposedly community noise enhancement goals in play there also. Trials at Heathrow, Gatwick and San Francisco have thus far proven encouraging. It's not known whether Virgin Atlantic has any driven interest in Wheeltug PLC - that other way of getting noiselessly and unexhaustively to the runway threshold and later, at destination, back to the gate (see Related Link).