By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest market show in Las Vegas high-end jets are drawing purchasers with their sleek silhouettes, plush cabins - and progressively, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to display novel forms of air travel fuel deemed less hazardous to the climate, from used cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually bowed to ecological pressure on air travel and dedicated to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that embracing eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions could make business jets more attractive to environmentally conscious buyers - particularly corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.
The accessibility of less polluting personal jets could also spare the rich and well-known the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his other half Meghan over a recent private jet journey to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on screen in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.
The most recent waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," 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."
A few of the other 79 aircraft on display are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the program.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions internationally, but can produce, usually, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter .
Prince Harry has defended his occasional use of private jets to guarantee his household's security, and has stated that on the rare celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state events such as the furore over his schedule have actually added fresh challenges for an industry currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving making use of private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has delivered fuel efficiency enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will assist the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to market data, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.
But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on renewable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.
Environmentalists and some analysts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant influence on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from organization jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far surpasses supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow said.
World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could expand production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from clients who wish to purchase carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions played a function in a business jet utilization study his business just recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I believe individuals are becoming more familiar with 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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