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 industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing buyers with their smooth shapes, luxurious cabins - and progressively, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to display novel forms of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.

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

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make service jets more appealing to ecologically conscious purchasers - especially corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.

The availability of less polluting private jets might likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable publicity 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 using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The most current waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," said Bryan Sherbacow, primary commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

A few of the other 79 airplane on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel blends expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of overall emissions globally, but can release, on average, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

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

But planemakers state events such as the furore over his travel plan have added fresh obstacles for a market already aiming to justify its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving making use of private jets are regrettable when you consider that our industry has delivered fuel performance improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the industry 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 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 event.

Environmentalists and some experts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, usually mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant influence on public perceptions about luxury travel.

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

Demand from company jet operators for sustainable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest could drive future production, Sherbacow said.

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

Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from customers who want 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 research study his business recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

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