Reducing emissions
In a pre-COVID environment, the Qantas Group would operate over 300 aircraft across around 1,500 flights using some 14 million litres of fuel each day. As a result, over 95 per cent of our overall emissions come directly from jet fuel. The Group saw a strong performance in fuel efficiency over the first eight months of FY20 as a result of the numerous fuel efficiency measures deployed across our operations. It was expected to further improve with the retirement of Boeing 747 aircraft and continued effort in fuel efficiency initiatives across the group.
Due to COVID-19, there has been a dramatic and unprecedented decrease in traffic, not only in terms of the number of flights operated but also in terms of reduced passenger load. The cumulative effect of both these trends has had a significant impact on our overall FY20 fuel efficiency. COVID-19 accelerated the retirement of the 747s, which will have a positive impact on fuel efficiency across the network and when international flying returns it will be on the more efficient 787 aircraft.
We're collaborating closely with other airlines, industry, scientific agencies and leading environmental NGOs to accelerate the development of aviation biofuels. In 2019, we committed $50 million to the development and increased uptake of a sustainable aviation fuels industry both in Australia and at our international ports.
In 2012 we made history with Australia's first commercial biofuel flights, and in January 2018 we operated the first dedicated biofuel flight between the United States and Australia, a 15-hour trans-Pacific flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne.