British Airways powers New York flight with 35 per cent sustainable aviation fuel

British Airways made history when it performed a parallel take-off with Virgin Atlantic on Monday on its first flight to the US since the easing of travel restrictions.

But the dual take-off was not the only noteworthy point about the flight – BA has confirmed that the A350 aircraft which operated the flight was powered with 35 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The carrier said that it believes it was “the first commercial transatlantic flight to ever be operated with this high percentage blend of sustainable aviation fuel”.

The SAF was provided by BP and is made from used cooking oil.

BA said that the combination of the SAF usage, alongside the “modern aircraft efficiency” of the A350, meant that the flight’s overall CO2 emissions were “more than 50 per cent less than those emitted by the now retired B747 aircraft that previously operated on this route”.

The carrier also confirmed that it had offset all emissions associated with the flight.

In September BA operated its first flight using SAF, on the carrier’s service from London to Glasgow, and pledged to do the same for all flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the COP26 conference.

Air France to offer 122 weekly flights to the US this winter

Air France has outlined plans to increase its US schedules in the coming months, following what it said had been “a significant increase in bookings” since the easing of travel restrictions.

The airline has now conformed that it will serve a total of 11 US destinations this winter, with up to 122 weekly flights.

There will be frequency increases to New York (from three to five daily flights), Miami (from seven to 12 weekly flights) and Los Angeles (from 12 to 17 weekly flights), and the airline will also resume service from Paris CDG to Seattle on December 6.

A new twice weekly route between Pointe-a-Pitre and New York will also launch on November 24.

Air France’s US schedules to and from Paris CDG this winter season will be as follows:

• Atlanta: 14 weekly flights operated by an A350-900
• Boston: seven weekly flights operated by an A350-900
• Chicago: five weekly flights operated by a B777-300
• Detroit: five weekly flights operated by a B787-9
• Washington DC: seven weekly flights operated by a B777-300
• Houston: five weekly flights operated by a B 777-300
• New York JFK: 35 weekly flights operated by B777-200 and B777-300 aircraft
• Los Angeles: 17 weekly flights operated by B777-200 and B777-300 aircraft
• Miami: 12 weekly flights operated by B777-300 and A350-900 aircraft
• Seattle: three weekly flights operated by an A350-900
• San Francisco: seven weekly flights operated by a B777-300