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 luxury jets are luring purchasers with their sleek silhouettes, plush cabins - and progressively, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to display novel kinds of aviation fuel considered less damaging to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on aviation and committed to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that embracing eco-friendly fuel to curb emissions might make company jets more attractive to ecologically mindful buyers - particularly corporations facing concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The schedule of less jets might likewise spare the rich and popular the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his partner Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.

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

The current waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

"All of our product is inedible."

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

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions internationally, but can give off, on average, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

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

But planemakers say events such as the furore over his schedule have actually added fresh difficulties for a market currently striving to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving the usage of private jets are regrettable when you consider that our market has provided fuel performance enhancements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel use will help the industry make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to industry data, billionaires just have a 19% business jet ownership rate.

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

Environmentalists and some analysts remain doubtful that biojetfuels, usually blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant influence on public understandings about high-end travel.

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

Demand from company jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far surpasses 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 up to 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 flights.

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

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