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Continental is planning to conduct a biofuel flight in January 2009 and therefore, will become the first carrier in the America to conduct such flight It has partnered on this project with Boeing, CFM International (a 50/50 joint company of General Electric Company and Snecma -SAFRAN Group), Refining Technology Developer UOP (a Honeywell company), and Oil providers (Sapphire Energy -algae and Terrasol -jatropha).

The group will make the flight from Houston on January 7, marking what the carrier describes as "the continued evolution toward low-carbon-lifecycle fuels".

Continental Airlines says that the demonstration flight will be operated with no passengers and will be powered by a special fuel blend with components derived from algae and jatropha plants known to be sustainable second-generation fuel sources.The demonstration flight will be the first biofuel flight by a commercial carrier using algae as a fuel source and the first using a two-engine aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines. The fuel used in one of the two CFM engines will be a 50/50 blend of traditional jet fuel and biofuel from algae and jatropha.

The aircraft will operate under an "Experimental" aircraft certificate and will have Continental's own FAA-licensed test pilots. The No. 2 (right) engine will be operated on the special biofuel blend. Various flight parameters will be tested and recorded to demonstrate that the regular fuel can readily be substituted by biofuel blend without any loss in performance and also resulting in reduction of carbon emissions.

Continental, Boeing, UOP and CFM have worked together for nine months on the research, production and testing of the biofuel.The laboratory and ground-based jet engine performance have been tested

"This flight represents another step in Continental's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and identifying sustainable, long-term fuel solutions for the aviation industry," said Continental Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner.