For the non-business air traveler the last five weeks of the year mark the peak level of airline travel for holidaymakers. In fact more than 45 million Canadians and Americans will be taking to the air over the winter holidays, for passengers who are eco-conscious the industry continues to (very gradually) move towards being slightly greener. Amongst North American carriers the recession has slowed the race towards becoming recognized as the most eco-friendly airline, although progress is still being made as airlines continue to make changes to improve fuel efficiency on existing aircraft. Changes range from huge (new fleet of aircraft are the most fuel-efficient) to seemingly moderate (new meal carts that weigh less than half of what they replace). Naturally beyond the efficiency of the airliner’s engines the total weight being carried has the most significant impact on the relative overall ‘mileage’ that a plane can manage. Nancy Young, vice president of environmental affairs at the Air Transport Association:

“It’s not often that economic interests and environmental interests align, but airlines are very focused on minimizing fuel burn. All of the airlines are very focused on this.”

It’s not as easy to compare fuel efficiency for jet aircraft as it would be a passenger car but the industry still looks to measure aircraft net emissions so that net progress can be tracked. Two standards that are widely used include amount of fuel consumed per passenger mile and also the carbon dioxide released which is estimated by experts to be approximately 3.1 gallons of carbon dioxide per gallon of jet fuel use. To put that in perspective US carriers consume nearly 1.5 billion gallons of jet fuel per month. Virgin America has been keen to promote a more sustainable approach, citing that many other changes are little more than cosmetic and that nothing impacts fuel efficiency more purposefully and modern aircraft and equipment. The airline has just 34 planes in its fleet – all of which are newer Airbus A320s. They do have a point, the technology of the new aircraft in terms of fuel efficiency is like comparing a modern hybrid car with a gas guzzler from a decade earlier. Virgin America also offer customers the opportunity to purchase a $5 or $10 carbon offset via the touchscreen entertainment available at every seat on the aircraft, which enables passengers to help minimize the environmental impact of their flight by investing in new alternate projects elsewhere.

Of the larger airlines Southwest seem to be leading the charge in making its fleet more eco-friendly and have invested far more time and money than the other major airlines at this time. The largest change which is almost complete throughout their entire fleet of Boeing 737s is the installation of winglets at the tip of the wing which improves the aircraft aerodynamics and therefore fuel efficiency. Southwest also operates its official ‘Green Plane’ which incorporates the latest in weight saving measures which are tested constantly to improve the efficiency of their planes. It’s a fully operational 737 which runs on scheduled services throughout their network. Southwest has reported that the Green Plane offers new seats which are lighter that in itself saves early 700lbs in overall weight from the aircraft load.

In 2011 I will run a series of posts looking at the major existing and planned eco-friendly improvements airline by airline. Although air travel still obviously provides the quickest method to travel long distances efficiencies of the industry still leave a lot to be desired. With that said there are still significant differences between the competing airlines which consumers should be aware of when booking their next flight. With high-speed rail links on shorter routes still probably a decade or more away, airliners still provide the only real choice for short to mid-range journeys (250-750 miles) will be interesting to see who is doing the most to win the support of the eco-conscious traveler.