By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing buyers with their sleek shapes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.
Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase unique types of air travel fuel considered less damaging to the climate, from used cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airline companies, have bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions could make company jets more attractive to environmentally mindful purchasers - particularly corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.
The availability of less polluting private jets might likewise spare the abundant and well-known the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a current personal jet journey 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 industry," said Bryan Sherbacow, primary business officer of Boston-based biofuel producer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized by Gulfstream.
"All of our product is inedible."
A few of the other 79 airplane on display are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel blends expected to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of overall yearly carbon emissions worldwide, however can emit, typically, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has safeguarded his periodic usage of private jets to guarantee his family's security, and has actually stated that on the rare celebrations he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state events such as the furore over his itinerary have added fresh challenges for a market already making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming including using personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our market has actually provided fuel performance improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will assist the market make inroads with corporations and rich purchasers. According to market information, billionaires only have a 19% company jet ownership rate.
But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers including alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some experts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, usually blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant effect on public understandings about high-end travel.
"No quantity of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make organization jets look eco-friendly," stated aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from service jet operators for renewable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest might drive future production, Sherbacow said.
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 consultants are also seeing more interest from clients who want to purchase carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions played a function in a corporate jet utilization study his company just recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I believe that cost, expense per hour, range, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) driver. But I think people are ending up being more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
