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 program in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing purchasers with their smooth shapes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to display unique forms of aviation fuel considered less hazardous to the environment, from used cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have acquiesced environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make business jets more appealing to ecologically mindful purchasers - especially corporations facing concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less contaminating personal jets might also spare the abundant and well-known the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife 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 most current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary 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 screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions globally, but can give off, typically, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his occasional usage of personal jets to ensure his family's security, and has stated that on the rare celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers say events such as the furore over his schedule have included fresh obstacles for a market currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.

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

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel use will assist the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry information, billionaires just have a 19% business jet ownership rate.

But even an image makeover - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for checking out airplanes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some experts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, generally blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," stated air travel 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, might expand production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter companies and experts are likewise seeing more interest from customers who wish to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions contributed in a corporate jet usage study his business just recently 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) motorist. But I think people are becoming more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it affects the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)