Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing purchasers with their streamlined shapes, plush cabins - and significantly, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to display novel forms of air travel fuel deemed less harmful to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually bowed to ecological pressure on aviation and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.
Their hope is that embracing renewable fuel to curb emissions might make business jets more appealing to environmentally conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with questions over sustainability from shareholders or green project groups.
The schedule of less contaminating private jets could also spare the abundant and popular the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current private jet trip 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 include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary 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 display screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the program.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can produce, usually, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has protected his occasional usage of personal jets to guarantee his safety, and has actually stated that on the unusual celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his travel plan have actually added fresh challenges for an industry currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving using private jets are unfortunate when you consider that our industry has actually provided fuel performance improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to market data, billionaires just have a 19% service jet ownership rate.
But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on sustainable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for checking out planes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet event.
Environmentalists and some experts remain doubtful that biojetfuels, normally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public perceptions about high-end travel.
"No amount of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," stated air travel expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from company 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 approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter companies and consultants are also seeing more interest from clients who wish to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions played a function in a business jet usage research study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I believe that rate, expense per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe people are becoming more aware of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)