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 greatest market program in Las Vegas high-end jets are luring purchasers with their streamlined shapes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to showcase unique kinds of aviation fuel considered less damaging 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 devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that embracing eco-friendly fuel to curb emissions might make business jets more appealing to environmentally conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The schedule of less contaminating private jets could likewise spare the abundant and famous the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current personal jet journey 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 include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary industrial officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

"All of our product is inedible."

Some of the other 79 airplane on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel blends expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions globally, however can produce, usually, 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 periodic use of private jets to guarantee his family's safety, and has said that on the uncommon events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his schedule have included fresh obstacles for a market already striving to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including using private jets are unfortunate when you consider that our market has actually delivered fuel performance enhancements of 40% over the past 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 information, billionaires just have a 19% company jet ownership rate.

But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on sustainable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for checking out planes - is not likely to please all 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 substantial impact on public understandings about high-end travel.

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

Demand from service jet operators for sustainable fuels now far exceeds 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 specialists are likewise seeing more interest from consumers who desire to buy carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.

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

"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) driver. But I believe people are ending up being more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)