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

By Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing purchasers with their smooth silhouettes, plush cabins - and progressively, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel kinds of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the climate, from used cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually bowed to ecological pressure on aviation and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that embracing renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make company jets more appealing to ecologically mindful purchasers - especially corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less contaminating personal jets could also spare the abundant and popular the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his partner Meghan over a current personal jet journey to southern France.

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

The current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food industry," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief commercial 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 airplane on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

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

Prince Harry has defended his occasional use of personal jets to guarantee his family's security, and has stated that on the uncommon events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state events such as the furore over his travel plan have actually included fresh challenges for an industry currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including making use of personal jets are regrettable when you think about that our market has delivered fuel performance enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

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

But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain doubtful that biojetfuels, usually blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

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

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

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

Corporate charter companies and consultants are also seeing more interest from clients 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 research study his business just recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

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