1 Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

Monty Mcwhorter edited this page 7 days ago

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest industry show in Las Vegas high-end jets are tempting buyers with their smooth silhouettes, plush cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are keen to display novel kinds of aviation fuel deemed less harmful to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have actually bowed to 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 suppress emissions could make company jets more attractive to ecologically conscious purchasers - especially corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.

The availability of less polluting private jets could likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his spouse 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 current waste-based fuels consist of "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 utilized 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 anticipated to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions internationally, but can give off, on average, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has actually defended his occasional usage of private jets to guarantee his household's security, and has stated that on the rare occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his travel plan have actually included fresh challenges for a market currently striving to justify its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming involving making use of personal jets are unfortunate when you consider that our market has actually delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

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

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for checking out planes - is unlikely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, typically blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public understandings about luxury travel.

"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," said aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from company jet operators for renewable fuels now far goes beyond 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 companies and experts are likewise seeing more interest from customers who wish to 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 usage study his business recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.

"At the end of the day, I think that price, cost per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) driver. But I believe individuals are becoming more aware of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)