Responsibletravel.com has announced today that it will offer travellers a flight search which compares not only prices, but carbon emissions of different airlines for requested routes. Following on from responsibletravel.com’s carbon reduction campaign (and decision to remove carbon offsetting) launched last month it is a move that adds a tangible dimension to the “when you…
Responsibletravel.com to offer carbon comparison flight search
Responsibletravel.com has announced today that it will offer travellers a flight search which compares not only prices, but carbon emissions of different airlines for requested routes.
Following on from responsibletravel.com’s carbon reduction campaign (and decision to remove carbon offsetting) launched last month it is a move that adds a tangible dimension to the “when you fly make it count” advice set out on the carbon caution page of the site: www.responsibletravel.com/carboncaution
Justin Francis, MD, responsibletravel.com said: “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.
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.”
Francis adds, “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.”
Created in partnership with Global Travel Market and The Carbon Consultancy The new flight search – www.responsibletravel.com/carbonratedflights, is just a click away, with responsibletravel.com donating 50% of income from the flight search to TravelPledge, who have committed to funding a project supporting local communities adapting to the impacts of global warming.
How does it work and what can it tell you:
• In the same way as any flight search except that it takes in to consideration both the price and efficiency of a selection of airlines on your chosen route.
• It offers a choice of provider based upon the efficiency of the equipment (aircraft fleet) used for long and short-haul flights.
• Behind the scenes the flight search uses the published long haul fleets of individual airlines, EU aircraft fuel consumption data and emissions conversions.
• Each airline fleet assessment is based upon published manufacturers 2 class seating configuration for long haul and 1 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. This means that the carbon rating of the airline links to both the statistical probability of the plane types you will travel on when flying and aircraft performance.
