By Allison Lampert
LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are tempting buyers with their smooth shapes, plush cabins - and progressively, their use of alternative fuels.
Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel types of aviation fuel considered less harmful to the environment, from used cooking oil to the definitely less glamorous meat waste.
Business jet operators, like airlines, have actually acquiesced environmental pressure on air travel and devoted to halving carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.
Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to curb emissions might make organization jets more appealing to environmentally conscious buyers - particularly corporations dealing with concerns over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.
The accessibility of less polluting personal jets might also spare the abundant and well-known the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his partner Meghan over a recent personal jet journey to southern France.
Five Gulfstream jets on display in Las Vegas are utilizing 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, primary business officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste used by Gulfstream.
"All of our item is inedible."
Some of the other 79 airplane on screen are expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the show.
FLIGHT SHAMING
Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions globally, however can produce, typically, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter firm Victor.
Prince Harry has defended his periodic use of private jets to ensure his family's security, and has stated that on the rare occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.
But planemakers state events such as the furore over his schedule have actually added fresh obstacles for an industry already making every effort to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.
"Incidents of flight shaming including the usage of private jets are unfortunate when you think about that our market has delivered fuel efficiency improvements of 40% over the past 40 years," said Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.
Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage 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 airplane flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for visiting aircrafts - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.
Environmentalists and some analysts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, generally mixed 50-50 with kerosene, will make a substantial effect on public understandings about luxury travel.
"No quantity of jatropha curcas or Brazil-nut fuel can make company jets look eco-friendly," said aviation expert Richard Aboulafia.
Demand from service jet operators for sustainable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest might drive future production, said.
World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, could expand production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.
Corporate charter business and specialists are also seeing more interest from customers who desire to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions from their flights.
Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, said emissions played a function in a corporate jet usage study his company just recently completed for a Fortune 500 business.
"At the end of the day, I think that price, expense per hour, range, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) driver. But I think individuals are becoming more knowledgeable about the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the world." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)
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Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show
Felicia Barreiro edited this page 2025-01-13 06:26:31 +00:00