Air New Zealand said on Thursday it planned to use biofuels for 10 percent of its fuel consumption within the next five years amid rising jet fuel prices and a global drive to cut carbon emissions.
Chief executive Rob Fyfe said the airline would use one million barrels of biofuel a year in its jet fleet by 2013.
"Air New Zealand is absolutely committed to being at the forefront of testing environmentally sustainable fuels for use in aviation," Fyfe said in a statement, adding biofuels had a carbon footprint about half the size of standard jet fuel.
Fyfe said the airline was targeting a biofuelled test flight near the end of 2008, using a fuel made from the African plant jatropha.
The airline also said its program of emissions savings had resulted in a reduction of 91,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the past three years.
