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 market show in Las Vegas high-end jets are enticing buyers with their streamlined silhouettes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel types of aviation fuel considered less damaging to the environment, from used cooking oil to the distinctly less glamorous meat waste.

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

Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to curb emissions could make company jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less polluting personal jets might likewise spare the abundant and famous the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan over a current private jet journey to southern France.

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

The most recent fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food industry," said 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."

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

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can discharge, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has protected his periodic use of personal jets to ensure his family's security, and has actually stated 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 included fresh difficulties for an industry already aiming to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including the use of private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our market has provided fuel effectiveness enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

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

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

Environmentalists and some analysts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, generally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant influence on public perceptions 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 renewable fuels now far exceeds supply and their interest could drive future production, Sherbacow stated.

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

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

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

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