By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's greatest market show in Las Vegas luxury jets are drawing buyers with their sleek silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel kinds of aviation fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the clearly less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually acquiesced ecological pressure on air travel and committed to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.
Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make company jets more appealing to ecologically conscious purchasers - specifically corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.
The schedule of less contaminating personal jets might likewise spare the abundant and popular the unfavorable promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a recent personal jet journey to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on display screen in Las Vegas are utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.
The latest waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary industrial 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 aircraft on display screen are anticipated to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel blends expected to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets represent less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, but can give off, on average, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.
Prince Harry has safeguarded his occasional usage of private jets to ensure his family's safety, and has actually said that on the rare events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state occurrences such as the furore over his travel plan have included fresh difficulties for a market currently aiming to justify its contribution to cutting business expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming including making use of personal jets are regrettable when you consider that our industry has actually delivered fuel performance improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to market information, billionaires just have a 19% service 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 checking out airplanes - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.
Environmentalists and some experts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant influence on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make business jets look eco-friendly," said aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from service jet operators for renewable 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, might expand production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter business and experts are also seeing more interest from consumers who wish to buy carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions played a function in a corporate jet usage study his business just recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I think that cost, expense per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I believe individuals are becoming more conscious of the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)