Ten minutes that could make your air tickets cheaper

Test case: India's first flight to operate on biofuel could take off as early as Monday, if all goes according to plan. Budget airline SpiceJet is planning to fly a turboprop Bombardier Q-400 over Dehradun for a 10-minute test flight; if that goes well, it will fly from Dehradun to Delhi. Precedence: In January this year, Australian carrier Qantas operated the world's first commercial flight using biofuel: a Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 from Los Angeles to Melbourne. The 15 hour flight used a blend of biofuel derived from mustard seed and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in the ratio of 1:10. What's in it for you? Usage of biofuel will bring down the consumption of costly ATF, which should reduce the airlines' operating costs — and the carriers may eventually pass on the benefits to the passengers through cheaper air tickets.