1 Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
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By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant market program in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing buyers with their streamlined shapes, plush cabins - and progressively, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel kinds of air travel fuel considered less damaging to the environment, from used cooking oil to the definitely less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make organization jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - specifically corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less contaminating personal jets could also spare the rich and well-known the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his other half Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on display in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The most recent waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

Some of the other 79 aircraft on display are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions internationally, however can release, on average, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has defended his periodic usage of private jets to guarantee his household's security, and has actually said that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his schedule have actually added fresh difficulties for an industry currently aiming to justify its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving using private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will assist the market make inroads with corporations and rich buyers. According to industry data, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image makeover - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting airplanes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, generally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial influence on public understandings about high-end travel.

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from business jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far exceeds supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow stated.

World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could expand production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and experts are also seeing more interest from consumers who wish to purchase carbon credits to from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions played a role in a business jet usage study his company recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

"At the end of the day, I believe that price, cost per hour, variety, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I think individuals are becoming more aware of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)