By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant market show in Las Vegas luxury jets are tempting buyers with their streamlined silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.
Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are keen to display novel kinds of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the climate, from used cooking oil to the definitely less attractive meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have acquiesced environmental pressure on air travel and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.
Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to suppress emissions could make company jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers - specifically corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.
The accessibility of less polluting private jets could likewise spare the rich and famous the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife 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 current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food industry," said Bryan Sherbacow, primary commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.
"All of our item is inedible."
Some of the other 79 aircraft on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions internationally, but can give off, on average, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has actually defended his periodic use of private jets to ensure his safety, and has stated that on the unusual celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers say events such as the furore over his travel plan have included fresh challenges for a market currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting corporate costs.
"Incidents of flight shaming including the use of personal jets are regrettable when you think about that our industry has actually delivered fuel effectiveness improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated 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 data, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.
But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for checking out planes - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.
Environmentalists and some experts stay hesitant that biojetfuels, typically combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable influence on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," stated air travel expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from service jet operators for sustainable fuels now far surpasses supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow stated.
World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could broaden production up to 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from customers who wish to purchase carbon credits to offset 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 recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.
"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think individuals are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
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Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
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