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Clean Getaway: Meat Waste Joins Biofuels At Luxury Jet Show

Cleveland MacFarland edited this page 2025-01-18 09:17:47 +08:00

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's most significant industry program in Las Vegas luxury jets are luring purchasers with their smooth silhouettes, luxurious cabins - and progressively, their use of alternative fuels.

Fuel manufacturers and jetmakers are eager to showcase novel forms of air travel fuel deemed less harmful to the environment, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less attractive meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airline companies, have bowed to environmental pressure on aviation and devoted to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that adopting eco-friendly fuel to suppress emissions might make service jets more attractive to environmentally conscious purchasers - especially corporations facing questions over sustainability from shareholders or green campaign groups.

The schedule of less polluting personal jets could likewise spare the abundant and popular the negative publicity experienced by Britain's Prince Harry and his better half Meghan over a current 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 current waste-based fuels consist of "fats, grease and oils that are byproducts of the food market," said Bryan Sherbacow, chief 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 expected to be powered by 150,000 gallons of other eco-friendly fuel mixes expected to be pumped at the show.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets account for less than 0.1% of total annual carbon emissions globally, however can discharge, on average, approximately 20 times more per passenger mile than jetliners, according to the London-based private charter firm Victor.

Prince Harry has actually defended his periodic use of personal jets to guarantee his family's safety, and has actually stated that on the rare 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 a market already aiming to validate its contribution to cutting business costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including making use of personal jets are unfortunate when you consider that our industry has actually provided fuel effectiveness improvements of 40% over the previous 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier thinks increased sustainable fuel usage will help the market make inroads with corporations and wealthy purchasers. According to industry information, billionaires only have a 19% organization jet ownership rate.

But even an image remodeling - with jets sporting stickers like "this airplane flies on renewable fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to airplanes - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 high-end jet occasion.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain hesitant that biojetfuels, normally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant effect on public perceptions about luxury travel.

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

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

Corporate charter companies and specialists are also seeing more interest from customers who want to buy 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 finished for a Fortune 500 business.

"At the end of the day, I think that rate, expense per hour, variety, speed and performance, that's still the (sales) motorist. But I think individuals are ending up being more familiar with the sustainability of operations and how it impacts the planet." (Reporting By Allison Lampert, Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexandra Hudson)