flyboy2
13th May 2006, 18:21
SAA seeks certification for undiluted synthetic fuel to cut costs
May 10, 2006 By AUDREY D’ANGELO
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3238778
Cape Town - SAA has been experimenting with ways to avoid being at the mercy of international oil producers by using synthetic fuel, according to Jan Blake, the head of the airline's repair and maintenance department, and Colin Jordan, the head of operations.
Blake said this week that SAA was applying for certification to use undiluted synthetic jet fuel made from coal by Sasol.
At present the airline uses a jet fuel mixture consisting of equal parts of synthetic fuel and fuel made from crude oil.
Soaring oil prices have had a disastrous effect on the airline industry, adding billions of dollars to costs despite the addition of fuel levies to the price of most tickets. The extent of the impact on SAA will not be divulged until its results are released in a few weeks.
All the same, a question mark will hang over the future of the aviation industry for as long as it remains dependent on fossil fuels, the reserves of which are finite. Some aviation writers have suggested that, because of this, the era of affordable flying could be over in a few years.
Jordan said it was impossible to say how the price of purely synthetic fuel could compare with that made from crude oil.
It would depend on the manufacturers and their costs.
But he said synthetic fuel could be made from other materials such as plants, and not only from coal. Synthetic fuel had the added advantage that it caused less wear on aircraft engines than crude oil.
To stress that synthetic fuel could come from a variety of sources, Blake joked that SAA's aircraft could "fly on mampoer", or peach brandy.
May 10, 2006 By AUDREY D’ANGELO
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3238778
Cape Town - SAA has been experimenting with ways to avoid being at the mercy of international oil producers by using synthetic fuel, according to Jan Blake, the head of the airline's repair and maintenance department, and Colin Jordan, the head of operations.
Blake said this week that SAA was applying for certification to use undiluted synthetic jet fuel made from coal by Sasol.
At present the airline uses a jet fuel mixture consisting of equal parts of synthetic fuel and fuel made from crude oil.
Soaring oil prices have had a disastrous effect on the airline industry, adding billions of dollars to costs despite the addition of fuel levies to the price of most tickets. The extent of the impact on SAA will not be divulged until its results are released in a few weeks.
All the same, a question mark will hang over the future of the aviation industry for as long as it remains dependent on fossil fuels, the reserves of which are finite. Some aviation writers have suggested that, because of this, the era of affordable flying could be over in a few years.
Jordan said it was impossible to say how the price of purely synthetic fuel could compare with that made from crude oil.
It would depend on the manufacturers and their costs.
But he said synthetic fuel could be made from other materials such as plants, and not only from coal. Synthetic fuel had the added advantage that it caused less wear on aircraft engines than crude oil.
To stress that synthetic fuel could come from a variety of sources, Blake joked that SAA's aircraft could "fly on mampoer", or peach brandy.