By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant market program in Las Vegas high-end jets are luring buyers with their smooth silhouettes, plush cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.
Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to display novel kinds of aviation fuel considered less hazardous to the environment, from used cooking oil to the clearly less attractive meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on air travel and dedicated to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that adopting sustainable fuel to curb emissions might make service jets more appealing to environmentally conscious purchasers - especially corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.
The availability of less contaminating personal jets could likewise spare the abundant and well-known 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 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 market," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief industrial 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 airplane on screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can produce, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.
Prince Harry has actually protected his occasional use of personal jets to ensure his household's security, and has said that on the uncommon celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state events such as the furore over his itinerary have actually added fresh challenges for an industry already striving to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.
"Incidents of flight shaming including using personal jets are unfortunate when you think about that our market has provided fuel performance improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will assist the market make inroads with corporations and . According to market information, billionaires only have a 19% business jet ownership rate.
But even an image transformation - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some analysts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, usually blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public perceptions about high-end travel.
"No amount of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," stated 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 said.
World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could broaden production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter companies and experts are likewise 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 business jet utilization study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I believe that cost, expense per hour, variety, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) driver. But I believe individuals are becoming more conscious of 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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