To address the high cost of aviation fuel, flag carrier Qantas is experimenting with the use of refined cooking oil to power its jets.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said the successful search for a sustainably produced biofuel is a vital step to address that problem which confronts the global aviation industry. He added it would support the sector's goal to be carbon neutral by the end of the decade.

The biofuel option is being tested due to the soaring cost of fuel. Crude oil now is almost $125 per barrel from $65 in 2006-07. Mr Joyce said that market analysts estimate that the price would likely remain over $100 in the medium term.

Qantas launched the use of the biofuel with a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and refined cooking oil on flight QF 1121 which left Friday morning from Sydney for Adelaide.

The plane was Qantas' first commercial flight that was partly powered by 15,000 litres of used cooking oil produced by SkyNRG, a Dutch company. It powered one engine of the Airbus A300 jet.

Qantas actually paid an amount as if it was aviation fuel the plane used because the biofuel was imported. Mr Joyce said Qantas did not mind absorbing the one-off cost as part of its search for viable alternative aviation fuel.

To help Qantas, the federal government gave the air carrier $500,000 to fund a study into the feasibility of using alternative biofuels for aircraft.

Jetstar, the budget air carrier of Qantas, will also use the same biofuel made by SkyNRG on a return flight from Melbourne to Hobart on Thursday.

"We need to get ready for a future that is not based on traditional jet fuel or, frankly, we don't have a future.... Alternatives to conventional jet fuel are vital to the aviation industry meeting ambitious targets for carbon-neutral growth and emissions reduction," The Herald Sun quoted Mr Joyce.

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