How To Choose The Lowest Carbon Flights
Smart Tips for Sustainable Travel
It’s no secret that flights are the hardest element of any trip to decarbonise. They can represent 70-85% of the total carbon footprint of your event or holiday. But don't worry, we've got practical tips to help you fly smarter.
Key Factors Influencing Flight Carbon Emissions
Once you understand the elements of a flight that lead to a higher or lower carbon footprint, you can start to make more informed choices.
1. Aircraft type and age
The aircraft model determines engine type and fuel efficiency. Newer aircraft typically offer better fuel economy, reducing fuel use and therefore carbon emissions. So fly on newer planes when possible.
2. Number, class and occupancy of seats
We work out the carbon footprint of a flight on a per person basis. That means, the more people on a plane the more people share the total carbon footprint of the flight. Flights with more economy seats and higher occupancy rates distribute emissions among more passengers, lowering the per-person carbon footprint.
3. Route taken
Let’s take the example of a flight from Singapore to New York. The obvious route might be to fly straight across the Middle East but this would be significantly longer than if the plane takes a ‘detour’ via the North Pole due to the curvature of the earth. The actual difference is over 1,000 nautical miles and 3 hours of travelling time.
Flying direct rather than having airport layovers on the route also reduces the carbon footprint of a plane journey for two reasons. Firstly, take off and landing uses significantly more fuel than cruising at altitude and secondly, the route itself is likely to be longer.
4. Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is thought to reduce the lifecycle emissions of aviation fuel by 70-80%. Whilst the first transatlantic flight to use 100% SAF took place last year, SAF is unable to be produced at the scale needed to significantly decarbonise the whole industry. Many airlines either still use kerosene or a blend of SAF and kerosene.
Need some help getting to grips with your flight’s carbon emissions. We help analyse your data, give you the results and find the smartest steps to bring those emissions down.
The difference between the lowest and highest carbon options
Short haul, economy, per person - Jakarta to Singapore
| Airline | Airline type | Aircraft type | Route | Carbon footprint per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Full service carrier | A333 | CGK–SIN | 178 kgs CO₂e |
| B | Low cost carrier | A320 | CGK–SIN | 168 kgs CO₂e |
In this example, people travelling on the low cost carrier carrier each have a carbon footprint 10kgs less than the full service carrier. This is because of the 36 first class seats in the full service carrier. It may not seem like a lot but when you consider this over a plane’s worth of passengers each time, it does add up.
Long haul, economy, per person - London to Tokyo
| Airline | Airline type | Aircraft type | Route | Carbon footprint per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Full service carrier | A388 | LGW–DXB- NRT | 2,235 kgs CO₂e |
| B | Full service carrier | B789 | LHR–HND | 1,232 kgs CO₂e |
For this long haul trip from London to Tokyo, the first example is indirect, requiring a stopover in Dubai. Not only is the aircraft used by airline B smaller and more efficient, it flys directly too which saves the excess fuel used for take off and landing and the extra air miles. This all means the carbon saving of choosing airline B is a whopping 1,003 kgs - that’s a nudge over a tonne of CO2e! Extrapolate that over a year’s worth of customers and your business could make some serious carbon savings.
How to find the best operators & book the lowest carbon flights
1. Review your flight data from last year
If you have the flight number for each flight taken by your clients, you (or we) can use flightaware.com to find out the model of plane used. From there, ecollective can provide a pretty accurate picture of the carbon emissions. You can then use this information to make more informed flight booking decisions going forward.
2. Use the Google flight comparison site
Google flights gives estimates of the carbon footprint of the flights it suggests, even indicating to users which are the lowest carbon options like this:
Clicking into the options above, we can see that the two lowest carbon flights shown are on Airbus A321neo planes which, according to the Airbus website, have a longer fuselage allowing for more seats (up to 244) and “Aerodynamic-enhancing Sharklets on the wings and fuel-efficient engines [which] ensure outstanding environmental performance with 30% lower fuel burn per seat”. We haven’t calculated the gains from the Sharkjets but it’s fair to say these planes are pretty efficient.
3. Review the airlines themselves
If you’re not in a position to explore the first two options, the next best thing you can do is review the airlines you book with, asking yourself the following questions:
Do they have a valid Net Zero policy / validated Science Based Target?
Do they use sustainable aviation fuel?
Are they investing in sustainable aviation fuel?
The more an airline does to decarbonise, the lower your carbon footprint too so it’s in your interest to find out.
Ready to reduce your travel emissions? Contact us for a free consultation and take the first step towards sustainable travel.
