A great deal of media attention was focused on an empty Virgin flight from London Heathrow to Amsterdam, no doubt pleasing Sir Richard Branson.
He described the one-hour flight on Sunday as a “vital breakthrough” for the global aviation industry.
The Boeing 747 had one of its four engines connected to an independent biofuel tank that it said could provide 20% of the engine's power, the BBC News website explained.
The three other engines were capable of powering the plane on conventional fuel had there been a problem.
The company said the babassu tree, native to Brazil, and the coconuts did not compete with staple food sources and came from existing mature plantations.
Both products are commonly used in cosmetics and household paper products.
Unsurprisingly, environmental campaign groups were less impressed and called the flight a publicity stunt.
They said that the airline should concentrate its efforts on the real problem – the rapid expansion of airports to meet the growing demand for flights.
At the time of writing, it is interesting to note that the Virgin group has not published details of the flight on its own website – either as a press release or a news feature.
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