Cathay Pacific to cut emissions with switch to biofuel

HONG KONG: Hong Kong f lag carrier Cathay Pacific will switch to biofuels made from landfill rubbish on select long haul flights, reports said Tuesday, in an effort to cut harmful emissions.

Cathay flights to Hong Kong from the US, where the new fuel is produced, will use a combination of conventional jet fuel and biofuels starting in 2019, the South China Morning Post reported.

The airline hopes to cut emissions on those flights by 80 percent.

“Aviation biofuels will play a key role for Cathay and the aviation industry’s quest for lower emissions,” Cathay Pacific biofuel manager Jeff Ovens told the Post.

The carrier had invested in the US-based sustainable biofuel developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, which converts municipal solid waste into aviation fuel, in 2014.

“These fuels will have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels, and the pricing we have is competitive with traditional fuels, Ovens said.

Cathay and other airlines have also been facing volatile oil prices.

The company has suffered huge hedging losses in the first half of last year as the price of oil plunged from its peak.

Oil hedging is when an airline locks in price of fuel — a huge chunk of most airlines’ outlay costs — at a pre-determined level for a certain amount of time. — Reuters