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

Ardis Newkirk edited this page 4 days ago

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest market show in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing buyers with their sleek shapes, plush cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are keen to display novel forms of aviation fuel considered less hazardous to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the distinctly less attractive meat waste.

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

Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to suppress emissions might make service jets more attractive to environmentally conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less polluting private jets could also spare the rich and well-known the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his partner Meghan over a recent private jet journey to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on screen in Las Vegas are utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The most recent waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," said Bryan Sherbacow, primary 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 expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other renewable fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total yearly carbon emissions worldwide, but can give off, on average, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has defended his periodic usage of personal jets to ensure his household's security, and has said that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his itinerary have actually included fresh difficulties for an industry already aiming to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.

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

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

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for checking out airplanes - is not likely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public understandings about high-end travel.

"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from service jet operators for renewable 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 business and consultants are likewise seeing more interest from consumers who desire to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from their .

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

"At the end of the day, I think that price, cost per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) motorist. 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)