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 show in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing buyers with their smooth shapes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel kinds of air travel fuel considered less hazardous to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.

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

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

The schedule of less polluting private jets might likewise spare the abundant and well-known the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.

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

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

"All of our product is inedible."

A few of the other 79 airplane 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 total annual carbon emissions internationally, but can discharge, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his periodic usage of personal jets to guarantee his family's security, and has stated that on the unusual celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his schedule have added fresh challenges for a market already making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting corporate costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including using personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our industry has actually delivered fuel effectiveness improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will help the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to market information, billionaires only have a 19% company jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this airplane flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to airplanes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.

Environmentalists and some experts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, usually blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial influence on public perceptions about high-end travel.

"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," said air travel analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from service jet operators for renewable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow stated.

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

Corporate charter companies and experts are likewise seeing more interest from clients who wish to buy carbon credits to balance out emissions from their .

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

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