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

Ashleigh Kirklin edited this page 2025-01-14 09:18:57 +08:00

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest industry show in Las Vegas luxury jets are luring purchasers with their smooth silhouettes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to display novel forms of aviation fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from used cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

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

Their hope is that embracing renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make service jets more appealing to environmentally mindful buyers - especially corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.

The availability of less contaminating personal jets might also spare the rich and famous the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on screen in Las Vegas are utilizing 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 business officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

Some of the other 79 aircraft on display are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel blends expected to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total yearly carbon emissions internationally, but can produce, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

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

But planemakers state incidents such as the furore over his itinerary have added fresh difficulties for an industry already making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

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

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the industry make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to market data, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for checking out aircrafts - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some experts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, usually 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 business jets look eco-friendly," said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from business jet operators for renewable 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 broaden production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and experts are likewise 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 played a function in a business jet study his business recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.

"At the end of the day, I think that price, cost per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think people are becoming more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)