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 market program in Las Vegas high-end jets are enticing purchasers with their sleek silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase unique forms of air travel fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from used cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

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

Their hope is that adopting sustainable fuel to curb emissions might make service jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The accessibility of less polluting private jets could also spare the rich and well-known the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan over a current 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 most recent waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief business 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 screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

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

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

But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his travel plan have added fresh challenges for an industry currently striving to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

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

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to market information, billionaires just have a 19% service jet ownership rate.

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

Environmentalists and some experts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, typically combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable influence on public perceptions about luxury travel.

"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," said air travel expert Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from service jet operators for renewable 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, could expand production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and are also seeing more interest from consumers who wish to buy carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions contributed in a business jet usage study his business just recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

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