When people look for flights, price is the main criteria. But if you’re environmentally conscious you might also want to look at the efficiently of an airline’s fleet. When it comes to transatlantic flights you might not have to choose between price and saving the environment. That’s because Norwegian Airlines, which has some of the cheapest prices, also has the most fuel efficient planes. That’s according to by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). British Airlines took the last spot out of the top 20 transatlantic airlines.
Fuel efficiency across the 20 airlines flying the most people across the Atlantic in 2017 had increased by 1 per cent since 2014, but that large, ageing aircraft, such as the 747, were holding the industry average back. It’s not a coincidence that Norwegian is on top. Airlines with more fuel-efficient aircraft, less premium seating and higher passenger and freight load factors operated more fuel efficient flights in general.
Next year the aviation industry will begin monitoring their carbon emissions as part of a landmark agreement to cut air travel pollution by 2050, thought to account for 2 per cent of all global man-made carbon emissions.
Average Fuel Economy
Average fuel economy passenger kilometres per litre (2017)
Most Fuel-Efficient Planes
- Airbus A350-900
- Boeing 787-9
- Boeing 787-8
- Airbus A330-300
- Boing 757-300
- Boeing 777-300ER
- Boeing 737 MAX
- Airbus A321
