WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — [WPMID=15] has tested a passenger jet powered partially with oil from a plum-sized fruit known as jatropha, in efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its fuel bill.

With its test flight Tuesday, the airline became the latest carrier experiment with alternative fuels, partly due to the threat of rising oil prices but also to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, which are projected to rise by up to 90 percent by 2020 according to European Commission projections. Virgin Atlantic completed a biofuel flight in February 2008.

Air New Zealand said the two-hour flight from Auckland International Airport was the first to use what are known as second generation biofuels to power an airplane. Second generation biofuels typically use a wider range of plants and release fewer emissions than traditional biofuels like ethanol.

One engine of the Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Click here to read more and watch a video about the biofuel flight at the Air New Zealand website.

“Today, we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history,” Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe said shortly after the flight.

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