The flight was the world’s first commercial aviation test flight powered by jatropha.  The jatropha produces inedible fruits which contain the oil and grows up to 3 m in height in arid conditions unsuited to food crops.  However, it is toxic and yields are unreliable.  It has been touted for mass production in marginal lands in India and part of Africa.  The fuel for the New Zealand flight came from jatropha grown in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.  Air New Zealand hopes to use 1 million barrels of biofuel per year by 2013.

Chief Executive Rob Fyfe said “It is Air New Zealand’s long-term goal to become the world’s most environmentally sustainable airline. Today we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history.”

British based Virgin Atlantic used a biofuel blend of 20% coconut oil and babassu oil in one of its four engines on a flight in February 2008.

On the 7th January 2009 Continental Airlines will conduct a test flight with a blend using algae and jatropha as a fuel source.  This will be the first biofuel powered demonstration flight of a US commercial airline.

Japan Airlines plans a test flight on the 30th January from Tokyo using a fuel based on the camelina oilseed.These tests will use different sources of alternative fuels as well as differing engines types used by the world’s airlines.