Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) – At the world’s biggest industry show in Las Vegas luxury jets are luring purchasers with their sleek shapes, luxurious cabins – and significantly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel forms of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the climate, from used cooking oil to the noticeably less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Their hope is that adopting sustainable fuel to curb emissions could make company jets more appealing to environmentally mindful purchasers – specifically corporations facing concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.

The accessibility of less contaminating private jets could likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a recent personal jet trip 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 byproducts of the food industry,” said Bryan Sherbacow, primary business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

“All of our product is inedible.”

A few of the other 79 aircraft on display are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable 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, however can release, typically, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has protected his occasional usage of private jets to ensure his household’s safety, and has actually stated that on the uncommon celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state events such as the furore over his schedule have included fresh difficulties for a market already making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.

“Incidents of flight shaming involving making use of private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has delivered fuel performance improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years,” said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry data, billionaires just have a 19% service jet ownership rate.

But even an image remodeling – with jets sporting sticker labels like “this aircraft flies on renewable fuels” and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes – is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.

Environmentalists and some experts stay hesitant that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public perceptions about luxury travel.

“No amount of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly,” said aviation analyst Richard .

Demand from company jet operators for eco-friendly 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 as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and consultants are likewise seeing more interest from consumers who wish to buy carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions contributed in a corporate jet utilization study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.

“At the end of the day, I believe that cost, cost per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that’s still the (sales) driver. But I think people 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)