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

Randal Lamble edited this page 2025-01-18 07:30:16 +01:00

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 smooth silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and increasingly, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to types of air travel fuel deemed less damaging to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have bowed to ecological pressure on aviation and committed to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions could make organization jets more attractive to ecologically conscious purchasers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The accessibility of less polluting private jets might likewise spare the rich and popular the negative promotion experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan over a recent private jet journey to southern France.

Five Gulfstream jets on display screen in Las Vegas are using California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The current waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food industry," stated Bryan Sherbacow, primary business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer 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 expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other sustainable fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions worldwide, however can produce, usually, approximately 20 times more carbon emissions per guest mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has protected his periodic usage of private jets to ensure his household's safety, and has actually stated that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers state incidents such as the furore over his schedule have added fresh difficulties for an industry currently aiming to validate its contribution to cutting business expenses.

"Incidents of flight shaming including using private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our industry has provided fuel performance improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel use will assist the industry make inroads with corporations and wealthy buyers. According to industry data, billionaires just have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting sticker labels 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 occasion.

Environmentalists and some experts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, generally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial influence on public understandings about luxury travel.

"No amount of Jatropha or Brazil-nut fuel can make service jets look eco-friendly," said air travel analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Demand from service jet operators for eco-friendly 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 expand production as much as 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter companies and consultants are also seeing more interest from customers 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 role in a corporate jet utilization research study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 business.

"At the end of the day, I believe that cost, cost per hour, variety, speed and efficiency, that's still the (sales) chauffeur. But I think individuals 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)