Virgin’s biofuel is a PR stunt says BA boss

Richard Branson’s promotion of biofuels is a PR stunt and green taxes on aviation are pure opportunism according to the chief executive of British Airways.

As the Queen unveiled Heathrow’s
“I recognise that we are a polluter. I recognise equally that we don’t have an alternative to kerosene and carbon-based fuels at this point,” he told the Guardian.

Asked about Branson’s embrace of biofuels – last month flying a Virgin Airways 747 to Amsterdam with one of four main tanks carrying a 20% mix of coconut and babassu oil – Walsh said: “Saying there is a biofuel available is, to me, a bit of a PR stunt. I won’t say [biofuels are the answer] because I don’t believe it’s true.”

Walsh, who became BA chief in 2005, said the industry’s target of using 10% biofuel by 2017 was “a reasonable ambition” but echoed green campaigners in questioning the implications of a widespread move to biofuel.

Guardian