AIAA CONGRATULATES UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS INC. ON BEING FIRST U.S. AIRLINE TO POWER A COMMERCIAL FLIGHT WITH BIOFUEL

November 10, 2011 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates United Continental Holdings Inc. for being the first U.S. domestic airline to complete a biofuel powered regularly scheduled passenger flight. The achievement was made by a Boeing 737-800 airplane flying Continental Airlines Flight 1403 from George H.W. Bush International Airport in Houston to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Monday, November 7, 2011.

AIAA Executive Director Robert S. Dickman stated: “AIAA has long been a voice for the greater use of biofuels in our nation’s aviation infrastructure. We congratulate the pilots of Continental Airlines Flight 1403, and the staff of United Continental Holdings Inc., for becoming the first U.S.-based airline to fly a biofueled aircraft in regularly scheduled commercial flight service. By achieving this, United Continental Holdings Inc., has ushered in a new age of American flight, one that will do more to protect our Earth’s resources, strengthen our nation’s economy, and drive further advances in science.”

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft was powered by a mix of 60% petroleum-based aviation fuel and 40% biofuel from genetically modified algae that feeds off plant waste. In the wake of the successful flight, United Continental Holdings Inc. signed an agreement with biofuel producer Solazyme Inc. to take delivery of 20 million gallons of algae-derived biofuel yearly by 2014.