Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus on Monday announced that it had flown its A380 Superjumbo airliner, with one of its engine using only sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The aircraft concerned was the company’s own flight test aircraft, known as MSN1.
The aircraft took off from Airbus’ main base, at Blagnac Airport in Toulouse in France, at 08h43 local time, on Friday. It landed back there some three hours later.
During the flight, one of the aircraft’s four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines was powered by 100% SAF, provided by TotalEnergies. The A380 is the third Airbus aircraft to be flown using 100% SAF, over the past year. The first, in March last year, was an A350. The second, last October, was an A319neo single-aisle airliner.
The SAF fuel supplied for this latest, A380, test flight, totalled 27 t. It was produced by a TotalEnergies facility close to Le Havre, in Normandy, in north west France. Composed of aromatics- and sulphur-free hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, its main feedstock was used cooking oil, with some other waste fats.
“Increasing the use of SAF remains a key pathway to achieving the industry’s ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” explained Airbus in its press release. “Key statistics outlined in the Waypoint 2050 report indicate that SAF could contribute between 53% and 71% of required carbon reductions.”
All Airbus aircraft are already certified to fly on fuel blends containing up to 50% SAF. The company planned a second test flight with the A380 and SAF on Tuesday. MSN1 will also be the aircraft that will be modified to flight test liquid hydrogen as an aircraft fuel, under the ZEROe programme, with such flights starting around 2025.