CO2 emissions: the most efficient airlines

Aviation consultancy IBA specialises in energy savings in air transport. In its IBA Insight newsletter, the consultancy reveals which of the world's airlines have managed to reduce their fuel consumption the most their CO2 emissions. Some up to 18% since 2019. This analysis applies to an overall reduction of 5.9 % in CO2 emissions emissions from commercial aviation since January 2018 (based on CO2 per seat-kilometre).

IBA bases its ranking on its carbon emissions calculator. It is based, among other things, on an analysis of aircraft models, the organisational performance of airlines and the regional distribution of emissions. Other criteria include flight routes and flight periods.

IBA can therefore reveal which airlines have reduced their CO2 emissions the most over the last 3 years. The long-haul champions are SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Iberia, Icelandair and Air Transat.. The reduction since 2019 is down from 15% to 18%. On medium-haul routes, Asian airlines dominate the rankings. Beijing Capital, Singapore Airlines, Asiana (Korea) and IndiGo (India) are down between 12% and 16%. Finally, on short-haul, Air Canada, Volotea and S7 Airlines (Russia) are the best performers. CO2 reductions range from 12% to 17%.

According to IBA, the use of new, more efficient equipment is an essential factor emissions. For SAS Scandinavian Airlines, for example, the consultant indicates that this is largely due to the replacement of Airbus A340 aircraft with new Airbus A350s, as well as the continued strategic use of the Airbus A330. IBA is taking a similar approach to Spain's Iberia.