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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 biggest market show in Las Vegas high-end jets are enticing buyers with their sleek shapes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to display novel forms of aviation fuel deemed less hazardous to the climate, from used cooking oil to the definitely less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced ecological pressure on aviation and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to curb emissions could make business jets more attractive to environmentally mindful purchasers - especially corporations facing questions over from investors or green campaign groups.

The availability of less contaminating private jets might likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a recent private jet journey 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 include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," said 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 sustainable fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions internationally, however can emit, usually, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has safeguarded his periodic usage of private jets to guarantee his family's safety, and has said that on the rare occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state events such as the furore over his schedule have added fresh challenges for a market already aiming to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.

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

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

But even an image makeover - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this airplane flies on sustainable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for checking out airplanes - is not likely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts stay hesitant that biojetfuels, generally blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable impact on public perceptions about high-end 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 sustainable fuels now far exceeds supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow stated.

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 consultants are likewise seeing more interest from customers who wish to buy 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 business jet usage research study his business recently completed for a Fortune 500 business.

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