By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry program in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing purchasers with their sleek shapes, plush cabins - and progressively, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel forms of air travel fuel considered less hazardous to the climate, from used cooking oil to the distinctly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airline companies, have bowed to environmental pressure on air travel and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that embracing eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make business jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - specifically corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.
The availability of less polluting personal jets might also spare the abundant and famous the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a recent personal jet trip to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on display screen in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.
The current waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.
"All of our product is inedible."
A few of the other 79 aircraft on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets represent less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions internationally, however can release, usually, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his periodic usage of private jets to guarantee his household's security, and has actually said that on the rare events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his travel plan have actually included fresh challenges for a market currently making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting business expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving using private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our market has provided fuel effectiveness enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
increased sustainable fuel use will help 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 sticker labels like "this airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some analysts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, typically combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant impact on public perceptions about luxury travel.
"No amount of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from business jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far surpasses 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 experts are likewise seeing more interest from clients who want to purchase carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions contributed in a business jet usage research study his company recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.
"At the end of the day, I believe that rate, cost per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) driver. But I think individuals are becoming more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it affects the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
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Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
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