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

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest industry program in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing purchasers with their smooth silhouettes, plush cabins - and significantly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to display unique types of aviation fuel deemed less damaging to the environment, from used cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

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

Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to curb emissions could make business jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - particularly corporations facing questions over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.

The accessibility of less polluting personal jets might likewise spare the rich and famous the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current private jet journey to southern France.

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

The most recent waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," 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 item is inedible."

Some of the other 79 aircraft on screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, but can produce, typically, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has actually protected his occasional use of private jets to guarantee his family's security, and has actually said that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state events such as the furore over his itinerary have included fresh challenges for an industry already aiming to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving making use of personal jets are regrettable when you think about that our industry has actually provided fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to market data, billionaires just have a 19% company jet ownership rate.

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

Environmentalists and some analysts stay hesitant that biojetfuels, normally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

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

Demand from service 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, might expand production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and consultants are likewise seeing more interest from consumers who wish to buy carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.

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

"At the end of the day, I believe that price, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think people are becoming more conscious of the sustainability of operations and how it affects the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)