By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest market show in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing buyers with their streamlined shapes, plush cabins - and significantly, their usage of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to display novel types of air travel fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from used cooking oil to the definitely less attractive meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually acquiesced ecological pressure on air travel and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.
Their hope is that embracing eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make business jets more appealing to ecologically mindful buyers - specifically corporations facing concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.
The accessibility of less contaminating private jets could likewise spare the rich and famous the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan over a current 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 consist of "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food market," stated 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."
A few of the other 79 airplane on screen 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 represent less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions globally, however can produce, on average, approximately 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 private jets to guarantee his family's safety, and has said that on the rare celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his schedule have added fresh challenges for a market currently making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving using private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has actually provided fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to industry 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 renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.
Environmentalists and some experts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, generally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable effect on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," said aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from service jet operators for renewable fuels now far surpasses supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow stated.
World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could broaden production up to 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter business and consultants are also 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, stated emissions contributed in a business jet usage research study his business just recently completed for a Fortune 500 company.
"At the end of the day, I believe that cost, expense per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think people are ending up being more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it affects the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
