Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
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 shapes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel types of air travel fuel considered less hazardous to the environment, from used cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have bowed to ecological pressure on air travel and dedicated to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make service jets more appealing to ecologically conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.
The schedule of less contaminating personal jets could also spare the rich and famous the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a current private jet journey to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on display 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."
Some of the other 79 aircraft on display are expected 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 overall yearly carbon emissions internationally, but can release, usually, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his periodic use of personal jets to guarantee his household's safety, and has actually stated that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state incidents such as the furore over his itinerary have included fresh challenges for an industry already striving to validate its contribution to cutting corporate costs.
"Incidents of flight shaming including using personal jets are unfortunate when you consider that our industry has actually delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier believes increased usage will help the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry data, billionaires just have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.
But even an image makeover - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to airplanes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some experts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, normally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable influence on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from company jet operators for renewable 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, might broaden production up to 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter business and specialists are also seeing more interest from customers who wish to buy carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated 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 believe that cost, cost per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe individuals are ending up being more aware of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
