WASHINGTON — Editor's Note: The video above is from Nov. 23.
A historic flight landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) Wednesday afternoon. United flight 2701 from Chicago to DCA is the first commercial flight to use 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), an important milestone as the travel industry works to combat its own contributions to climate change.
“Today’s SAF flight is not only a significant milestone for efforts to decarbonize our industry, but when combined with the surge in commitments to produce and purchase alternative fuels, we’re demonstrating the scalable and impactful way companies can join together and play a role in addressing the biggest challenge of our lifetimes," said United CEO Scott Kirby.
The demonstration flight departed O'Hare Airport at 1 p.m. CT carrying 100 passengers, with an arrival time of 4 p.m. EST. The flight used 500 gallons of SAF -- a clean alternative to jet fuel -- in one engine and 500 gallons of jet fuel in the other.
According to United, airlines are currently only allowed to use a maximum of 50% SAF on board, meaning past flights using SAF were a combination of the alternative fuel with conventional jet fuel.
"This flight is historic because we secured permission to operate one engine on 100% SAF with the other running on conventional jet fuel to prove there are no operational differences between the two — and to set the stage for the future of aviation with more scalable uses of SAF," United tweeted.
United Airlines has set a goal of being 100% green by reducing its GHG emissions 100% by 2050, without relying on traditional carbon offsets. To work towards this goal the company says it plans to buy 1.5 billion gallons of SAF; so far this year they've purchased more than 7 million gallons through the Eco-Skies Alliance program.
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