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 show in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing buyers with their streamlined shapes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to display unique kinds of aviation fuel considered less to the climate, from used cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have acquiesced ecological pressure on air travel and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make company jets more attractive to environmentally mindful purchasers - especially corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The accessibility of less contaminating personal jets might likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan over a recent private 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 consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief industrial officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.

"All of our product is inedible."

Some of the other 79 airplane on screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total yearly carbon emissions globally, however can produce, on average, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.

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

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his schedule have added fresh difficulties for a market currently striving to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming including the usage of personal jets are unfortunate when you consider that our industry has delivered fuel effectiveness enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

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

But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this airplane flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding 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 skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public perceptions about luxury travel.

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.

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

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

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

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

"At the end of the day, I think that cost, cost per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) driver. But I believe individuals are becoming more mindful of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)