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Interview with Interjet CEO, José Luis Garza
Noticias met with José Luis Garza in Mexico City to learn more about Interjet’s biofuel efforts. José Luis Garza has been CEO of Interjet since the airline’s founding in 2005 and has played a key role in developing its environmental policy. Interjet used an Airbus A320 in a test flight with Jatropha-based biofuel in Mexico this April. The company successfully completed its first commercial flight with biofuel in late July. The planes were powered by CFM engines using approximately 30% biofuel.
1. What is Interjet’s motivation for leading the use of biofuel in aviation in Mexico and Latin America?
Biofuel use is one component of a company philosophy established by Interjet’s president when the airline was first founded almost six years ago. It’s why we have the most efficient planes and engines in terms of consumption, noise levels and emissions. Miguel Alemán (Interjet’s President) understood the issue and made it one of our main objectives and design elements. It goes beyond having efficient planes or biofuels to being an airline with a policy of respect and responsibility toward the environment at the global level.
When we began studying the use of different plant sources for biofuel five years ago, we initially considered a Mexican plant called Salicornia. We invested in research and development but the project didn’t pan out, and eventually we discovered the Jatropha plant. The Governor of Chiapas and Mr. Alemán launched the project after seeing the plant’s potential, and this led to the creation of a working group made up of Airbus, CFM, UOP-Honeywell, ASA fuels and Interjet.
Eventually, after a year and a half of continuous work, we held the first test flight in April 2011. Once international standards were set for the use of biofuels we prepared to launch the world’ first commercial flight. We didn’t end up being the first in the world, but we were the first in Mexico, something we are very proud of.
We firmly believe that Mexico’s potential and unique conditions could make it a world leader in biofuel production. We hope our efforts will attract government attention to creating public policies that stimulate biofuel use and production.
2. Could you comment on Interjet’s strategy of working with local providers of the Jatropha plant?
Our efforts in the area of biofuel in the State of Chiapas, with the backing of the state government, have been very important to this project. It all begins with the characteristics of the Jatropha plant, which make it especially suited to contribute to reforestation. Mexico has a history of deforestation that it shares with many undeveloped tropical countries. The forests are cut down or burned for crop cultivation. The soil is relatively poor and so is quickly depleted, the growers move on, and the area is left deforested and barren. After several centuries of this process, large parts of Chiapas were deforested and in very bad shape. Now these lands are being reforested with Jatropha, which grows very well in difficult soil.
For the five years it takes for the plant to produce its first seeds and fruit, the government pays growers a fixed amount per hectare in exchange for a commitment to tend the trees until they reach the growth phase, helping to contribute to household income. This policy has enabled the government of Chiapas to meet several goals at once: reforestation, job creation and the generation of a permanent source of income for rural families.
Once the Jatropha trees produce their first seeds they are cut down every year and sold for biofuel production. Chiapas has already built a small facility to transform plant oil into biodiesel. This biodiesel is fueling a large percentage of the urban transport system(buses) in the state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Tapachula.
The final product is on its way but the project still can’t be considered profitable. The government’s plan is far-reaching. What we have now is more of a support initiative. Interjet wanted to make this clear and wanted to be a part of the project, which has federal and state participation and could serve as a model for application in many other parts of Mexico.
3. We’ve seen the name “Ecojet” on the livery of your biofuel-powered planes. Is this part of a new Interjet campaign?
We wanted to single out biofuel flights with the name Ecojet, a name trademarked in Mexico. We’ve placed it on planes that have participated in these flights.
We decided to leave the Ecojet name and logo on the planes as a record of these events and we now have three planes with the logo. Every flight using biofuel has been designated this way and we want to continue to use this trademarked brand to leave a record of all commercial flights made with biofuel.
To date we have carried out one test flight and two Interjet commercial flights: Ecojet Flight 001 flew from Mexico City to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and the last flight (for the time being!), Ecojet Flight 002, made the return trip.
4. How have Interjet frequent fliers responded to the company’s biofuel efforts? Is the initiative attracting new passengers?
Public reaction has been fantastic, really positive for Interjet. Media coverage of the both the test and commercial flights made an extraordinary impression on society in general. We received an enormous number (thousands!) of messages on Twitter and other social networks with extraordinarily positive things to say about the effort. As far as passengers are concerned, we have also received many comments and emails congratulating Interjet for this initiative, especially from younger generations of Mexicans, who are a very important part of our client. Definitely, we think the initiative has motivated both new and frequent fliers to travel with us and that the project has been an extraordinary marketing advantage for Interjet, thanks to our company’s positive/proactive attitude toward the environment.
For more information contact:
Amaya Rodriguez Gonzalez
Marketing Director, Airbus Latin America & Caribbean
amaya.rodriguez-gonzalez@airbus.com