Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

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By Allison Lampert By Allison Lampert

By Allison Lampert


LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest industry show in Las Vegas high-end jets are enticing purchasers with their sleek silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.


Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are keen to display unique forms of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the distinctly less glamorous meat waste.


Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and dedicated to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.


Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to curb emissions might make company jets more attractive to environmentally conscious purchasers - specifically corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.


The accessibility of less polluting personal jets could likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current personal jet journey to southern France.


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


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


"All of our item is inedible."


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


FLIGHT SHAMING


Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions globally, however can give off, usually, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.


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


But planemakers state incidents such as the furore over his travel plan have included fresh difficulties for an industry already making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.


"Incidents of flight shaming involving using personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our industry has delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.


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


But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet occasion.


Environmentalists and some experts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, usually mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public perceptions about high-end travel.


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


Demand from company jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far goes beyond 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 business 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, said emissions played a role in a corporate jet utilization research study his business just recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.


"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I believe individuals are ending up being more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)

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