Although Corona is the single dominating topic in the aviation world at the moment, the aspect of sustainability hasn’t vanished. On the contrary, eco friendly operations will be critical for every airline in the next decades. Moreover, in the long-run sustainability will —certainly— have a bigger impact on the aviation industry the COVID-19.

That’s why it was good to see that many airlines —at least before Corona— have started to take the topic of sustainability seriously. On top of that, many airlines invested immense sums in becoming more eco friendly. New aircraft, more fuel-efficient engines, or efficient process are just a few examples of initiatives.
But what are the results? And which airlines have done good so far and which need to do some homework? Since we work closely with airlines in performance monitoring and fuel efficiency, we were curious to know the details.
That’s why we went through many reports that rate airlines, according to eco-friendliness. After analyzing many of them, we believe that atmosfair provides the most comprehensive and reliable information about eco-friendly airlines.
How atmosfair Rates Eco Friendly Airlines
The atmosfair Airline Index compares and ranks the carbon efficiency of the 200 largest airlines of the world. The formula contains every flight the aircraft type, engines, winglets, seating and freight capacity, and load factors for both passengers and co-loaded freight.
World’s 30 Most Eco Friendly Airlines — Highlights
In case you don’t have time to go through the entire list, here are the essential aspects of the 2018 report.
European Airlines Are The Most Eco Friendly
It seems that European airlines take the topic of sustainability super seriously. Three out of the top five eco friendly airlines are based in Europe. On top of that, when we take a look at the top ten, we find seven European airlines among the most eco friendly airlines. And when taking a look at the top 30, you will recognize that European airlines account for 33%. I’d say: Well done!
China Surprises — Positively
I want to very honest. When I started collecting the data, I didn’t expect to find many carriers from China among the top 30 most eco friendly airlines. If you are from China and reading this right now, I genuinely apologize for my prejudice because the opposite is the case. Not only that, a Chinese airline is ranked 3rd (China West Air); we can also find seven Chinese carriers among the list of top 30 most eco friendly airlines.
US & North American Airlines Badly Disappoint
Actually, a result that was even more surprising than to see so many Chinese airlines. I definitely expected to see —at least— many airlines from North America in the list of the 30 most eco friendly airlines. Certainly more than from China, Asia, or South America. However, only three airlines, one from the US and one from Canada, made it to the top 30. So, there’s definitely room for improvement!
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World’s 30 Most Eco Friendly Airlines — The Detailed List According To Atmosfair 2018
Long story short. Here’s the complete list of the leading airlines when it comes to sustainability.
Rank | Airline | Continent | Eco Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | TUI Airways | Europe | 79.3 |
2 | LATAM Brasil | South America | 78.8 |
3 | China West Air | Asia | 77.8 |
4 | TUIfly | Europe | 77.6 |
5 | Transavia | Europe | 76.3 |
6 | SunExpress | Europe | 74.9 |
7 | Thomas Cook* | Europe | 74.7 |
8 | Air Europa Express | Europe | 73.4 |
9 | Condor | Europe | 71.8 |
10 | Juneyao Airlines | Asia | 70.9 |
11 | Jet2 | Europe | 70.8 |
12 | Air Europa | Europe | 70.7 |
13 | Air New Zealand | Australia | 70.5 |
14 | Vietnam Airlines | Asia | 70.4 |
15 | Beijing Capital Airlines | Asia | 69.8 |
16 | S7 Airlines | Asia | 69.2 |
17 | KLM | Europe | 68.9 |
18 | Virgin Australia | Australia | 68.5 |
19 | Air New Zealand Link | Australia | 68.3 |
20 | Air Caraibes | North America | 68.2 |
21 | Avianca | South America | 67.9 |
22 | Alaska Airlines | North America | 67.4 |
23 | Shandong Airlines | Asia | 67.4 |
24 | Sichuan Airlines | Asia | 67.4 |
25 | Thai Airways | Asia | 67.4 |
26 | Air Transat | North America | 67.1 |
27 | UTair | Asia | 66.9 |
28 | Air India Express | Asia | 66.8 |
29 | Hong Kong Airlines | Asia | 66.2 |
30 | Shenzhen Airlines | Asia | 66.1 |
* Thomas Cook ceased operations in 2019
A Look At The Bottom Of The List?
Of course, it is always interesting to see who’s at the bottom of a list. That’s why we also took a look at the bottom of the list. And again we can come up with some surprising results. So here are the 5 worst airlines in terms of eco friendliness!
Rank | Airline | Country | Eco Points |
---|---|---|---|
121 | Delta Connection | USA | 28.5 |
122 | Envoy | USA | 28.2 |
123 | Kenya Airways | Kenya | 27.6 |
124 | Egyptair Express | Egypt | 25.4 |
125 | South African Airlink | South Africa | 2.3 |
And if you want to check out all the details, here’s the link to the entire list from atmosfair.
Want To Know More About Airlines And Sustainability? Here’s Where To Start!
Benjamin is an information-enthusiast, a content-maniac, and CEO of Information Design (in this order). His daily business revolves around pioneering solutions with the aim to change the way companies use information. His visions are based on expertise gained in more than 15 years in the industry, and working with renowned companies all over the globe.
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