No-frills airlines 'better for environment’

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No-frills airlines ‘better for environment’

22 January 2010 468 views 3 Comments

Passengers who fly with no-frills carriers leave a softer “carbon footprint” than those on full-service airlines, new research has shown

Apparantly the combination of newer fleets, direct flights and a higher ’seat density’ means that the budget airline flights can produce 35% of the carbon emissions per passenger of the larger ‘full-service’ airines.

No-frills airlines tend to fly with more seats occupied: in 2009, the average for an easyJet flight was 86 per cent and for Ryanair 82 per cent. This compares with an average of 68 per cent on Europe’s full-service airlines, according to the Association of European Airlines. British Airways’ flights were 73 per cent full, on average, during the same period.

No-frills carriers also operate from smaller “point-to-point” regional airports, which allow shorter taxi times and have fewer delays for landing slots.

Full-service airlines continue to take steps towards the low-cost model. This week Bmi said it planned to remove business-class sections from its domestic flights and have economy-only cabins. It already charges passengers in economy seats for food and drinks on these flights.

BA has also cut luggage allowances, abolished free meals and begun charging for booking of particular seats on short-haul flights