Boeing and others tout China's first biofuel passenger flight

BEIJING, March 21 (UPI) -- Boeing, Hainan Airlines and Sinopec are celebrating China's first passenger flight powered by biofuel.

A Hainan flight from Shanghai to Beijing carrying 100 passengers used a combination of 50 percent biofuel made from used cooking oil gathered in restaurants and 50 percent jet fuel. Boeing helped Hainan successfully complete the experiment.

"We are honored to see our airplane fly on sustainable aviation biofuel from Shanghai to our nation's capital," Pu Ming, vice president of Hainan Airlines, who piloted the plane, said in a statement. "As a fast-growing domestic and international carrier, Hainan Airlines is demonstrating our environmental commitment by showing that aviation biofuel can play a safe and effective role in China's air transport system."

The biofuel reduces emissions by 50 to 80 percent. Boeing opened a biofuel research center in Brazil at the beginning of the year.