What the airlines are doing

While flying uses fuel and leaves a carbon footprint, the aviation industry as a whole is making important strides on the environmental front. In fact, there are some surprisingly positive green facts about the airline industry:

• Aviation produces around 2 per cent of the world’s human-made emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Air transport accounts for 3 per cent of CO2 emissions in the European Union, compared with almost 40 per cent for the energy industries.
• Despite growth in passenger numbers at an average of 5 per cent each year, aviation’s emissions growth has only been around 3 per cent.
• New aircraft are significantly quieter and 70 per cent more fuel-efficient than 40 years ago and 20 per cent better than 10 years ago.
• Airlines are aiming for a further 25 per cent fuel efficiency improvement by 2020.
• Modern aircraft like the B777 achieve fuel efficiencies of 3.5 litres or less per 100 passenger km.
• It is estimated that more than 95 per cent of a plane can be recycled, for either spare parts or simply melting down and repurposing the metal. In fact, aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing are now designing not just with safety and longevity in mind, but for recyclability once an aircraft’s flying days are over.

In recent years, airlines have developed new measures to stay green in the sky. Carbon offsetting is one hugely popular approach. Under such programmes – now offered by most global carriers – passengers can buy vouchers with their ticket that funnel money into environmental research programs and CO2 reduction projects. On a larger scale, the airlines themselves are increasingly turning to carbon trading exchanges that allow them to buy or sell credits for CO2 emissions in ratio to traffic numbers. This flow of money aims to offset the environmental impact of air travel.
When coupled with energy-efficient enhancements to planes, these measures have allowed the International Air Transport Association – the world's leading airline body – to pledge a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050.

Cheapflights’ Picks for Five Greenest Airlines

• Continental Airlines has one of the youngest fleets in the industry, with the average age of its planes at barely 10 years. Aircraft fuel efficiency improved by a massive 80 per cent between the 1960s and the 1990s – so having a modern, green fleet is absolutely essential.
• British Airways may lag behind its rivals in terms of aircraft age, but the flag carrier leads the way when it comes to developing bio-fuels. Airlines currently run their planes on refined kerosene, which is both costly and heavily polluting. Under the terms of a new deal struck with Solena Group, BA will produce 16 million gallons of eco-friendly bio-fuel derived from waste products by 2014.
• Southwest Airlines has taken a raft of measures to reduce its carbon footprint lately. Among these is the airline's £110 million investment toward Required Navigational Performance – the next generation of avionics technology that allows planes to reduce fuel usage by optimising flight paths.
• Virgin Atlantic is often credited with operating the first commercial flight powered in part by bio-fuel, but it tackles its carbon footprint in a host of other ways, too. The airline's website openly publishes statistics about its CO2 emissions, and it is one of the few carriers to commit to recycling on-board waste. Chairman Richard Branson has also pledged more than £2 billion to fight global warming over the next decade.
• Qatar Airways deserves a special mention for running the first commercial passenger flight powered by natural gas derived fuel. The airline even has its own Fuel Optimisation department, which assesses on-board weight reduction methods as well as green take-off and landing procedures.