New Zealand-Air New Zealand flies on fruit.

NEW ZEALAND.

AIR NEW ZEALAND-FLIES ON FRUIT.

Looking to reduce its carbon copy footprint and cut down on its fuel bill, Air New Zealand on Wednesday tested a passenger jet, that was partially powered by fuel, from a plum sized fruit known as Jatropha.

The airline is the latest carrier to experiment with alternative fuel, partially due to the threat of rising oil prices that have cooled in recent weeks, oil jumped $5 per barrel on Wednesday again, proving that the market is still volatile and could rise again at any small international crisis.

Aviation companies are trying to cut emissions from aircraft by 90% by 2020.

Air New Zealand said the two hour flight from Auckland International Airport, was the first to use what is known as second generation bio-fuels to power an airplane. Second generation fuels, are made up from a wide range of plants, that release fewer emissions than bio-fuels like ethanol.

One engine of the Boeing 747 was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil, from the jatropha plant and standard A1 jet fuel.

This first flight was a joint venture between Air New Zealand, Rolls Royce and bio-fuel company UOP Lic, a subsidiary of Honeywell International.