JetBlue Makes Long-Term Commitment to Biofuel

New England Council member JetBlue recently announced its long-term commitment to biofuel by buying over 33 million gallons of biofuel mix over the next decade.

The purchase will fuel 20 percent of the airline’s flights from Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and is one of the largest purchases of its kind in the industry. The fuel is a mix of 70 percent traditional fuel and 30 percent fuel produced from plants. The plant portion of the mix is projected to produce up to 50 percent less emissions than its traditional counterparts.

“It’s thinking long term about our biggest cost, but its primary motivation is to reduce our greenhouse gases,” said Sophia Mendelsohn, JetBlue’s head of sustainability. “What we really want to do is jump-start the industry and quite frankly enable all airlines, very much ourselves included, to diversify our fuel supply.”

The New England Council thanks JetBlue for its proactive approach to adopting biofuel and reducing greenhouse emissions. Read more in The New York Times, Bloomberg and in the press release.