Virgin Australia leads region in emissions reductions

by CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, TOM BALLANTYNE  

May 1st 2016

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Virgin Australia is one of the top three least polluting airlines in the world and the cleanest airline in the Asia-Pacific, a study conducted by the University of Warwick’s Warwick Business School has reported. Read More »

Finland’s Finnair and TAP Portugal took first and second places, respectively, for the smallest carbon footprints of the 20 airlines surveyed, followed by Virgin Australia. American Airlines, after its merger with US Airways three years ago, had the largest emissions of all airlines in the study.

Rival North American carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, who have a large number of ageing airliners in their fleets, were the other two worst polluters in the voluntary survey.

“Finnair performs best due to the age and type of its planes, the routes it flies and the overall number of connections it offers. It is probably among the most advanced [airlines] in accounting for and managing its emissions,” said the author of the study, Dr. Frederik Dahlmann.

“The data shows that for most airlines emissions either are growing or are stagnant and none are showing a significant reduction. This is despite many airlines introducing modern and efficient aircraft into their fleets. With flights set to double by 2030, cutting emissions is a real problem.”

There is no obligation for airlines to release its carbon footprint information, said Dr. Dahlman, which was why only 20 airlines had participated in the study.

“There are more than 200 international airlines and many would not provide the data. Unfortunately, the data does not provide a full and completely fair picture [because of this fact] and also because there are significant variations in business models, flight destinations and aircraft at the world’s airlines,” he said.

Three other Asia-Pacific airlines participated in the study and were placed in the following positions for their volume of emissions: Qantas Airways (10), Korean Air (11) and Cathay Pacific Airways (12).