Such demonstrations play a crucial role in bringing the aviation industry on board the sustainability drive, said Sami Jauhiainen, CEO of Neste. They also show that sustainable aviation fuel is safe to use despite the adoption of greener fuel in the Asia Pacific.
The firm's vice-president for renewable aviation in Asia Pacific said these segments of the aviation market that are well positioned to be the front runners and show examples of the broader industry.
The industry is making its way towards greener skies because of the move to incorporate more sustainable aviation fuel.
Singapore Airlines and Scoot have been offering flights running on sustainable aviation fuel with a premium in a year-long trial.
On Monday, a helicopter flight came days after an international panel of experts recommended ways for Singapore to achieve its aspirations as a sustainable aviation hub.
Among the 15 recommendations to the government are: Increasing demand and supply for sustainable aviation fuel and allowing planes to take the most optimal route between destinations to increase fuel efficiency.
The recommendations encourage corporate buyers to fund sustainable aviation fuel use, as well as longer term structural and more policy-driven measures that are needed to create a long term growing market for green fuel, said Mr Jauhiainen.
Even as his firm prepares to expand Singapore refinery next year to increase its production capacity to a million tons of sustainable aviation fuel, cost remains a key challenge, according to Jauhiainen.
It's about three to five times more expensive than conventional fuel.