By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry program in Las Vegas high-end jets are luring purchasers with their sleek shapes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase unique kinds of aviation fuel considered less damaging 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 committed to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that embracing renewable fuel to curb emissions could make service jets more attractive to environmentally mindful buyers - especially corporations facing concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.
The schedule of less contaminating private jets might likewise spare the rich and well-known the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current private jet journey to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on screen in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.
The newest waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food industry," stated Bryan Sherbacow, chief business 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 blends anticipated to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total yearly carbon emissions internationally, however can emit, on average, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has defended his occasional use of private jets to ensure his household's security, and has said that on the unusual celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state events such as the furore over his schedule have added for a market already striving to validate its contribution to cutting business expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving using private jets are unfortunate when you think about 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 sustainable fuel usage will assist the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to industry data, billionaires only have a 19% service jet ownership rate.
But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.
Environmentalists and some experts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public understandings about high-end travel.
"No amount of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," said air travel 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, might broaden production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from consumers 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 corporate jet usage study his company just recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.
"At the end of the day, I think that cost, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe people are ending up being more conscious of the sustainability of operations and how it affects 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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