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Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

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By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry show in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing purchasers with their streamlined shapes, luxurious cabins - and significantly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to display novel types of aviation fuel considered less damaging to the climate, from used cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and dedicated to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to curb emissions might make service jets more attractive to environmentally mindful buyers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.

The availability of less polluting personal jets might also spare the rich and popular the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half 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 market," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.

"All of our item is inedible."

Some of the other 79 airplane on screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel blends expected to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can give off, usually, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has actually protected his occasional use of personal jets to guarantee his family's security, and has stated that on the unusual celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his .

But planemakers say occurrences such as the furore over his itinerary have added fresh challenges for a market already aiming to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving using personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our market has delivered fuel performance enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will assist the market make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to industry information, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on sustainable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for visiting aircrafts - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts stay skeptical that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable influence on public perceptions about luxury travel.

"No amount of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from company jet operators for eco-friendly fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest could 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 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 role in a corporate jet utilization study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.

"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think people are becoming more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)