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 luring buyers with their sleek silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to display unique forms of air travel fuel deemed less harmful to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on air travel and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make business jets more attractive to environmentally mindful buyers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.

The accessibility of less contaminating private jets might also spare the rich and popular the negative 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 utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The current waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer 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 screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel blends expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions globally, but can release, on average, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.

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

But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his itinerary have actually added fresh difficulties for an industry currently striving to justify its contribution to cutting corporate costs.

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

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and rich 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 sustainable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes - is not likely 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 considerable effect on public perceptions about luxury travel.

"No amount of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from service jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far exceeds supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow said.

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

Corporate charter business and consultants are also seeing more interest from clients who wish to buy carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.

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

"At the end of the day, I think that cost, cost per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe people are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it affects the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)