pt-sinergi-oleo-nusantara

By Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - At the world's biggest market program in Las Vegas luxury jets are enticing buyers with their sleek silhouettes, plush cabins - and progressively, their usage of alternative fuels.

Fuel producers and jetmakers are keen to showcase novel forms of aviation fuel deemed less harmful to the climate, from utilized cooking oil to the noticeably less glamorous meat waste.

Business jet operators, like airlines, have acquiesced ecological pressure on air travel and dedicated to cutting in half carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005.

Their hope is that embracing sustainable fuel to suppress emissions could make service jets more appealing to ecologically conscious purchasers - specifically corporations facing questions over sustainability from investors or green campaign groups.

The accessibility of less polluting personal jets might also spare the abundant and famous the negative 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 in Las Vegas are utilizing California-produced fuel from inedible beef tallow.

The latest waste-based fuels include "fats, grease and oils that are by-products of the food industry," said Bryan Sherbacow, primary commercial officer of Boston-based biofuel manufacturer World Energy, which produces fuel from meat waste utilized 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 renewable fuel mixes anticipated to be pumped at the program.

FLIGHT SHAMING

Private jets represent less than 0.1% of overall annual carbon emissions internationally, but can discharge, typically, as much as 20 times more carbon emissions per traveler mile than jetliners, according to the London-based personal charter company Victor.

Prince Harry has actually defended his periodic use of personal jets to ensure his family's safety, and has actually stated that on the unusual occasions he does not fly commercially he offsets his emissions.

But planemakers say events such as the furore over his travel plan have added fresh difficulties for a market already making every effort to justify its contribution to cutting corporate costs.

"Incidents of flight shaming including making use of private jets are unfortunate when you consider that our market has actually delivered fuel performance enhancements of 40% over the past 40 years," stated Bombardier Aviation President David Coleal.

Bombardier believes increased sustainable fuel use will help the market make inroads with corporations and rich buyers. According to market information, billionaires just have a 19% company jet ownership rate.

But even an image transformation - with jets sporting sticker labels like "this aircraft flies on eco-friendly fuels" and organisers adding alternative fuel pumps for going to aircrafts - is not likely to please all critics at the Oct 22-24 luxury jet event.

Environmentalists and some analysts remain skeptical that biojetfuels, normally combined 50-50 with kerosene, will make a significant impact on public perceptions about high-end travel.

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

Demand from business jet for renewable fuels now far goes beyond supply and their interest could drive future production, Sherbacow said.

World Energy, which produces 40 million gallons of biofuel at its California plant, might expand production approximately 150 million gallons by 2022.

Corporate charter business and consultants are also seeing more interest from clients who want to purchase carbon credits to balance out emissions from their flights.

Brian Proctor, CEO of Mente Group, a U.S. consultancy, stated emissions contributed in a corporate jet utilization research study his company just recently finished for a Fortune 500 company.

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