These Are The Top Airlines For CO2 Pollution

We all know that we have to do our part to prevent the calamity of global warming destroying our planet, but a recent report has revealed that airlines have not really been pulling their weight.

UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization has revealed that air travel adds to around 2% of all carbon emissions in the world. And now a new report from the German environmental nonprofit organization Atmosfair can reveal who are the main culprits!

How does the CO2 ranking work?

The ranking of environment efficiency ranks from A to G. A is the number one fuel-efficient airline who has reduced their carbon emissions the most, to G, who are the worst polluters.

There were a total of 125 airlines scored. Low-cost carriers were ranked separately, as their business models differ from mainstream carriers and “renders them not-comparable to other airlines” regarding carbon emissions.

Unfortunately this year there was no A category airline. There simply was not a fuel efficient enough carrier that could reduce their impact enough.

flying — Airlines need to pick up the slack and make themselves more environmentally friendly.

What makes an airline environmentally friendly?

Atmosfair recommends that the best way for airlines to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions is to invest in new, more energy efficient aircraft like the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 787. They will not only make the world a better place but also save money on fuel.

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And as much as we hate to admit it, the denser the aircraft the better the emission per passenger is. So expect to take one for the team and expect more planes to have increasingly dense cabins.

Airlines which achieve the best results are those using modern equipment, having high seating density and high rates of passenger occupancy and load utilization

Airlines can also have a carbon offset scheme to donate a certain amount of funds to environmental organizations. The idea is, if you plant enough trees you will offset the carbon cost of the flight.

Let's discover where each of our favorite airlines squares up!

The results

Here are the top 10 most CO2 and environmentally friendly airlines.

TUI Airways(UK)
LATAM Airlines Brasil(Brazil)
China West Air(China)
TUIfly(Germany)
Transavia France(France)
SunExpressTurkey
Thomas Cook Airlines(UK)
Air Europa Express(Spain)
Condor Flugdienst(Germany)
Juneyao Airlines(China)

The only US airline to make it under 25 was Alaskan, they got a C rank and a score of 22. Delta scored 45 and got a D ranking and United scored 50 and also got a D ranking. American actually improved its score from last year, moving up from 66 to 58, by replacing its older aircraft with Dreamliners and Airbus neos.

It didn't look better on the other side of the pond, with British Airways ranking 74th and Virgin Atlantic at 83rd. This is rather embarrassing for Virgin founder Richard Branson, who has always considered himself an environmentalist.