Following the first commercial biofuel flight, operated by KLM in June 2011, KLM will operate the longest biofuel flight ever. Flight KL705 is scheduled to depart from Amsterdam with a Boeing 777-200 and fly to the Rio+20 sustainable development conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Passengers will include State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment Joop Atsma. The aircraft is partly flying on sustainable fuel made from used cooking oil.

With this flight, KLM is further expanding its pioneering role in the development of sustainable biofuels. KLM has been working with the World Wide Fund for Nature The Netherlands (WWF-NL) since 2007 and is the first airline to develop a biofuel program with SkyNRG. The program will enable companies to operate some of their flights on sustainable biofuel, thereby stimulating the further development of biofuels.

Prominent companies such as Ahold, Heineken, Accenture, DSM, Philips, Nike and Schiphol Group have all joined the KLM BioFuel program. In doing so, they are showing leadership and encouraging other companies to follow their example. The fuel KLM uses is supplied by SkyNRG, the company KLM founded in 2009 with North Sea Group and Spring Associates. SkyNRG is now the world’s market leader for sustainable kerosene, supplying more than 15 carriers worldwide.

KLM is open to using different kinds of raw materials for the end product, as long as they meet a range of sustainability criteria, including a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, and minimal negative impact on biodiversity and food supply. Likewise, all biofuels used by KLM meet the same technical specifications as traditional kerosene -- no adjustments need to be made to aircraft engines or the infrastructure.