KUNIA, HAWAII — If all goes well this summer, an Air New Zealand 747 jumbo jet will take off from Auckland this fall powered by fuel refined from the seed of a fast-growing weed.
The three-hour test flight could mark one of the more promising -- and more unusual -- steps by the financially strapped airline industry to find cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel.
"We're confident that the test will go well," said David Morgan, Air New Zealand's general manager for airline operations, before leading visitors to a farm here where the weeds are being researched. If the flight is successful, "it'll be a real milestone not only for Air New Zealand but for aviation."
The secret: oil from poisonous seeds of the jatropha tree, which grows in warm climates around the world. For the last year, scientists here have been perfecting a process for turning the oil into jet fuel. On Wednesday, the airline announced plans to use the new fuel for 10% of its needs by 2013.
The jatropha oil is also significantly cheaper than crude oil. It could cost an estimated $43 a barrel, or about one-third of Wednesday's closing price of $122.30 for a barrel of crude oil.
The test flight is particularly noteworthy because it will come at a time when ethanol and other biofuels have come under increasing scrutiny because of their side effects. Production of ethanol has been blamed for corn shortages that have contributed to higher food prices. Other biofuels have been blamed for deforestation and contributing to global warming.
The test will also come as record fuel prices are prompting airlines to raise fares and jam more people into fewer, more fuel-efficient planes. With jet fuel prices up 70% from a year ago, U.S. carriers could see losses of more than $7 billion this year, analysts estimate.
On Wednesday, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the nation's second-largest carrier, said it planned to ground 100 older, fuel-guzzling planes and shed as many as 1,600 jobs as it faces a $3-billion fuel bill in what it called an "unprecedented fuel environment."
"This is an extraordinary crisis with the potential to reshape the industry with impacts throughout the global economy," said Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the International Air Transport Assn., as he opened an annual gathering of airline executives in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday.
