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1 Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry show in Las Vegas luxury jets are tempting buyers with their smooth shapes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase unique forms of fuel deemed less harmful to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have bowed to environmental pressure on air travel and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to curb emissions might make company jets more appealing to environmentally conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The schedule of less polluting personal jets might also spare the rich and famous the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his other half Meghan over a current 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 recent waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer 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 expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions worldwide, however can discharge, typically, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has protected his periodic use of private jets to ensure his family's safety, and has actually said that on the uncommon events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his itinerary have included fresh challenges for a market already making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including the usage of private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will assist the industry make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to market data, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for going to airplanes - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

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

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

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

Corporate charter business and experts 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 contributed in a business jet usage study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.

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