Vistara operates long-haul wide-body aircraft

 Airline Vistara said on Thursday it became India's first carrier to operate a wide-body aircraft using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on a long-haul route.

Vistara is a joint venture between Tata group and Singapore Airlines.

The flight was between Charleston International Airport, South Carolina to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, and was operated in partnership with The Boeing Company and GE Aerospace, on Vistara's newest GEnx-powered Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, the fourth in its fleet, it said on Thursday in a release.

By using a blend of 30 per cent such sustainable aviation fuel with 70 conventional jet fuel, Vistara claimed it was able to reduce approximately 150,000 pounds of CO2 emissions over the fuel's life cycle.

"This is an important milestone in our commitment towards achieving carbon neutrality. We thank our partners, Boeing and GE Aerospace, for their support and hope that initiatives such as this, open up more avenues for the industry to increasingly adopt sustainable technologies," said Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara.

"Since the very beginning, Vistara had decided to invest in modern and advanced new aircraft with fuel-efficient engines, and we remain committed to reducing carbon emissions across all areas of our operations," he added.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to conventional jet fuel, lowering carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent over the fuel's life cycle, depending on the feedstock.

"We congratulate Vistara on the significant achievement of becoming the first Indian airline to operate a wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787-9, on a long-haul route using SAF. This is a major milestone in the Indian aviation industry's journey towards decarbonization, and we are proud to have been a partner in this endeavour. Boeing remains committed to working with Vistara and other partners to promote the use of SAF in the Indian aviation industry and around the world, in support of our collective goal of achieving a sustainable future for air travel," said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

Vikram Rai, country head, South Asia and Indonesia, GE Aerospace, said, "GE Aerospace congratulates Vistara on this milestone. The GEnx engine, like all GE Aerospace engines, can operate on approved SAF blends today. Compatibility with existing aircraft engines is one of the reasons SAF is critical to helping the aviation industry reach its goal to be net zero by 2050 and collaborations like this encouraging greater adoption of SAF globally helps bring us closer to this target. The GEnx is also up to 15% more fuel efficient than its predecessor, helping reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in flight in addition to the benefits of SAF." (ANI)