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 biggest industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing purchasers with their smooth silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to display novel types of aviation fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on air travel and committed to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to suppress emissions might make company jets more attractive to environmentally conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The schedule of less contaminating personal jets might also spare the rich and popular the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his other half Meghan over a recent private jet journey to southern France.

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

The latest waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief industrial officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

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

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions internationally, however can discharge, typically, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has defended his occasional usage of private jets to ensure his household's security, and has said that on the rare events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers say events such as the furore over his itinerary have added fresh challenges for a market already making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting business expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming including using private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has provided fuel effectiveness enhancements of 40% over the previous 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to industry information, billionaires just have a 19% service jet ownership rate.

But even an image makeover - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on sustainable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for visiting airplanes - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.

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

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," stated air travel analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from organization jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far surpasses supply and their interest could drive future production, Sherbacow said.

World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could broaden production up to 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and specialists are likewise seeing more interest from customers who wish to purchase carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.

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

"At the end of the day, I believe that price, expense per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I believe people are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)