There was a rather predictable shout of "publicity stunt" when Virgin became the first airline to use biofuel mixed with aviation fuel in a commercial flight. Green pressure groups and environmental journalists rushed to attack Virgin with Friends of the Earth dismissing biofuels as "a major distraction in the fight against climate change" (bbc.co.uk, 24 Feb). The airline was also accused of using the flight as a smokescreen to cover its support for a third runway at Heathrow (Guardian, 25 Feb) described by Greenpeace as a "massive piece of spin and greenwash" (greenpeace.co.uk, 25 Feb).
Richard Branson countered that it was a "breakthrough for the entire airline industry" (Guardian, 25 Feb) and talked of possibly using algae produced in sewage farms rather than the mixture of Malaysian coconut oil and wild Babassu palms from Brazil. He also urged environmentalists to stop criticising experiments and support efforts to find breakthroughs aimed at fighting global warming. Airline analyst James Halstead praised Branson for being "willing to put some of his billions into an experiment aimed at reducing the climate change impact of aviation" but warned of "unanswered questions about the usefulness of biofuels in the battle against global warming" (Daily Record, 25 Feb).