Aviation Industry Will Need to Switch to Biofuels

World Bank Principle Air Transport Specialist Charles E. Schlumberger said more airlines were looking to switch to biofuel. "The world needs to build up capacity in biofuel and other alternative fuels as the world is probably at the peak in fuel production cost.  "We can't produce biofuel overnight. You need the infrastructure, distribution system and certification for airplanes. There are bigger implications," he added.

The current financial meltdown plaguing the world will definitely hit the aviation industry harder than the fuel crisis, says  "The fuel cost is going down right now and with the current financial meltdown, consumers will have less money to spend on air travel and airlines will have more constraints to finance their business.

"That will mask the fuel problem. The fuel problem will come back when business comes up again," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Routes Forum 2008 hosted by the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

Schlumberger said the meltdown would not only impact premier carriers but also budget airlines, adding that only the ones with strong financial reserves would be able to weather the storm. "Certainly, there'll be more bankruptcies. To date, 28 airlines have gone bankrupt," he said.

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