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 smooth shapes, plush cabins - and significantly, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are eager to showcase unique types of aviation fuel deemed less hazardous to the environment, from used cooking oil to the definitely less attractive meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.
Their hope is that adopting renewable fuel to suppress emissions might make organization jets more attractive to environmentally mindful buyers - specifically corporations facing concerns over sustainability from investors or green project groups.
The schedule of less polluting personal jets might also spare the abundant and popular the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a recent private jet trip to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on display screen in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.
The most recent waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary business 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 renewable fuel blends anticipated to be pumped at the program.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can emit, on average, up to 20 times more carbon emissions per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.
Prince Harry has actually safeguarded his periodic use of private jets to ensure his household's safety, and has actually said that on the rare events he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers say incidents such as the furore over his itinerary have included fresh difficulties for a market currently aiming to validate its contribution to cutting corporate expenses.
"Incidents of flight shaming involving the use of private jets are unfortunate when you consider that our market has delivered fuel effectiveness improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to market information, billionaires just have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.
But even an image transformation - with jets sporting stickers like "this aircraft flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for visiting planes - is unlikely to satisfy all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some analysts stay doubtful that biojetfuels, generally blended 50-50 with kerosene, will make a considerable influence on public perceptions about high-end travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," said aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from company jet operators for sustainable fuels now far exceeds supply and their interest could 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 business and experts are also seeing more interest from clients who wish to buy carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions contributed in a corporate jet utilization research study his business just recently finished for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I believe that rate, cost per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) driver. But I think individuals are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it affects the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)