‘Practical guide’ to airline emissions
Tuesday, 01 Dec, 2009
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A flight search comparing prices and carbon emissions of airlines for different routes has been introduced.
Online travel agency responsibletravel.com is providing the facility in an effort to help travellers become better informed about the environmental impact of their trips.
The flight search uses published long haul fleets of individual airlines, EU aircraft fuel consumption data and emissions conversions.
It offers a choice of provider based upon the efficiency of the aircraft fleet used for long and short-haul flights.
Each airline fleet assessment is based upon published manufacturers’ two class seating configuration for long haul and one class seating for short haul, to provide an optimised emissions estimate per available seat/per plane value.
All the relevant aircraft in an airline fleet and their seat values are multiplied to create a fleet value, with a separate analysis for short haul and long haul fleets.
The flight selection is assessed for distance to determine short haul and long haul fleet selection. The total short/long haul fleet values are then rated to provide an indication of the most carbon-friendly airline choices.
Company managing director Justin Francis said: “Ultimately we all need to take responsibility for reducing our carbon emissions.
“While flying less is a priority the reality is that tourists continue to want to visit destinations that require a flight.
“By offering a comparative lower carbon flight search, based on the carbon efficiency of different airlines, we are able to offer a practical guide to relative carbon travel.
“And if consumer demand starts to reward efficient airlines our expectation is that more airlines will disclose exact fuel consumption and work much harder towards being less polluting.”
The new initiative follows the agency starting a carbon reduction campaign last month together with a decision to remove carbon offsetting.
The company believes the online emissions measurement adds a tangible dimension to a "when you fly make it count" advice set out on a carbon caution page of its website: www.responsibletravel.com/carboncaution.
Francis claimed: "We were the first travel agency to enable tourists to make an informed choice about the holidays they book – based on how they address the social, economic and environmental impacts.
"It is exciting to be at the next stage and be the first to offer informed choices, based on carbon emissions, when booking flights.”
Created in partnership with Global Travel Market and The Carbon Consultancy The new flight search is at www.responsibletravel.com/carbonratedflights.
The company donating half of income from the flight search to TravelPledge, which funds a project supporting local communities adapting to the impacts of global warming.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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