On Friday, July 15th, Lufthansa flew using a biofuel blend produced by Neste Oil. The NExBTL renewable aviation fuel was such a resounding success that now Airbus A321 Lufthansa-operated flights flying between Hamburg and Frankfurt will use this fuel, in both directions four times a day. One engine will run on a 50-50 NExBTL/fossil fuel blend while the other engine will be powered with fossil fuels only. This announcement makes Lufthansa the first airline in the world to incorporate biojet fuel into its operations for commercial flights.

“We are naturally very proud to be global pioneers with Neste Oil in using renewable fuel on regularly scheduled flights,” said Christoph Franz, the Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the Lufthansa Group.

These commercial biofuel flights are now able to take place because just last month ASTM International approved the use of renewable aviation fuel.

“Lufthansa has been our customer for a long time, and we are now very pleased to be leading together the adoption of renewable fuels in aviation,” added Neste Oil’s President & CEO, Matti Lievonen. “Neste Oil’s NExBTL technology is very well-suited to producing aviation fuel. All our NExBTL plants are capable of yielding fuel that meets the aviation industry’s toughest quality standards. This is an area in which Neste Oil will look for growth in the future.”

Neste Oil’s biojet fuel is made from a blend of vegetable oils and waste fats including camelina, jatropha and waste animal fats. The fuel is compatible in all current aircraft engines with no engine modifications required.