LONDON — Virgin Atlantic Airways, the English carrier controlled by billionaire Richard Branson, tested a jumbo jet partly powered by a biofuel made from babassu nuts and coconut oil, a first for a commercial aircraft.

The Boeing 747-400, which took off from London and landed at Amsterdam, had one unmodified engine running on a mixture of about 25% biofuel and the rest standard jet kerosene, Mr. Branson said yesterday at a Heathrow airport news conference.

The flight, without passengers, is part of a joint project between the London-based airline, Boeing, and engine-maker General Electric. Airlines and aircraft makers are racing to develop a viable alternative to jet fuel as the price of oil rises and aviation is increasingly blamed for contributing to global warming.

“Two years ago, people said that was impossible. They said it would freeze at 30,000 feet,” Mr. Branson said in an interview. Yesterday’s test was “purely” to prove biofuel will work on commercial aircraft, he said. The fuel source used yesterday isn’t plentiful enough to be a major resource for the airline industry he said.

“We’ve really got to move towards something sustainable,” he said. Air New Zealand, the country’s biggest carrier, will operate a test flight using algae in four months time, according to Mr. Branson.