{"id":4965,"date":"2023-10-24T10:15:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T10:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/finance\/if-you-want-to-be-a-more-climate-friendly-traveler-tough-it-out-on-the-budget-airlines-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2023-10-24T10:15:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T10:15:16","slug":"if-you-want-to-be-a-more-climate-friendly-traveler-tough-it-out-on-the-budget-airlines-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=4965","title":{"rendered":"If you want to be a more climate-friendly traveler, tough it out on the budget airlines\u2014here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This <\/em>article<\/em> is reprinted by permission from <\/em>NerdWallet<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As someone who cares about my environmental impact and spending as little money as possible, life is full of fraught decisions.<\/p>\n

Should I buy organic milk even though it\u2019s twice as expensive? Or choose an electric car for $40,000 rather than a friend\u2019s run-down Corolla for $3,000?<\/p>\n

\n

Should I make eye contact with the person on the street raising money to fight climate change or awkwardly pretend to be on a phone call?<\/p>\n

The point is that my aversion to spending money often means I\u2019m cutting corners environmentally. Yet when it comes to air travel, these preferences aren\u2019t in conflict. In fact,\u00a0reducing one\u2019s travel carbon footprint\u00a0can actually mean spending less on airfare.<\/p>\n

The only downside: It means flying with airlines that pack you in (and treat you) like sardines.<\/p>\n

Plus<\/strong>: What\u2019s the fastest way to board a plane? United Airlines is going all in on \u2018Wilma.\u2019<\/p>\n

The high cost of legroom<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Flying burns a lot of fossil fuels \u2014 there\u2019s no way around that fact. If the entire commercial aviation industry were a country, it would rank sixth (between Japan and Germany) in total emissions, according to an October 2019 report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.<\/p>\n

But not all means of traveling by air have the same impact. More expensive seats, such as\u00a0premium economy, business class and first class, burn more fuel per passenger than the sardine-like conditions at the back of the plane.<\/p>\n

How much more? A lot.<\/p>\n

Flying in first class on a widebody jet creates a carbon footprint nine times larger than flying in economy, according to a report from the World Bank\u2019s Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the first bit of good news for cheap, environmentally conscious travelers like me. You can\u00a0save money and shrink your carbon footprint\u00a0at the same time by choosing economy fares.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not all. Because not only does what cabin you fly in matter, but so does the plane\u2019s layout.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> Summer vacation in Greenland? How climate change is raising questions about travel destinations and peak seasons.<\/p>\n

Enter budget airlines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Imagine two types of bus: One that carries 50 passengers and one that carries 25. Assuming the fuel consumption is roughly similar for both, which bus would be more efficient in terms of gas burned per passenger mile?<\/p>\n

Obviously, the more packed bus is more efficient.<\/p>\n

Yet we often overlook the parallel with air travel. Some Boeing 737s
\n BA,
\n +0.55%<\/bg-quote>,<\/span>
\n operated by low-cost airlines, carry far more passengers than the same 737s operated by airlines with first- and business\u2013class seats, simply because they lack a first-class cabin.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why budget airlines Frontier
\n ULCC,
\n -3.07%<\/bg-quote>
\n and Spirit
\n SAVE,
\n +0.68%<\/bg-quote>
\n ranked best regarding carbon dioxide emissions per seat mile (in grams) in a 2022 analysis by IBA, an aviation consulting firm.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

In fact, the report specifically cites the high density (i.e., sardine-like) seating of Frontier\u2019s aircraft as a major reason why the airline ranked so well.<\/p>\n

Another reason budget airlines are dark-horse climate winners: They offer several nonstop flights.<\/p>\n

For example, the new low-cost airline Zipair offers four routes from the U.S. directly to Tokyo. Flying direct in this way reduces emissions simply because it covers less distance and burns less fuel.<\/p>\n

Flying direct often means paying more, but these low-cost airlines have turned that logic upside down. That means you can spend less, emit less and spend less time in the air.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the catch?<\/p>\n

No such thing as a free soda<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Low-cost airlines might be more environmentally friendly on the whole, and their fares can be cheaper on the surface, but actually saving money with them can be challenging. That\u2019s because they generate much of their revenue through\u00a0add-on fees\u00a0on top of the base fare.<\/p>\n

Expect to pay for everything from a can of soda to the opportunity to select your own seat. In fact, the cost of a flight with an airline like Spirit can quickly balloon past the cost of the same flight with a traditional carrier if you\u2019re not careful.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where stoicism comes in. Yeah, you\u2019re paying and emitting less, but only because you\u2019re giving up on \u201cfrills\u201d like legroom and free drinks. That might be fine for a two-hour flight, but it will test even the steeliest nerves for a trans-Pacific one.<\/p>\n

The trick is to pay for only the frills you actually care about. Budget airlines will\u00a0try to push countless add-ons\u00a0during checkout, from bundles to trip cancellation protection.<\/p>\n

Read next:<\/strong> Crowds, costs and cancellation concerns? Try these tips and tricks for booking holiday travel.<\/p>\n

Some of these might be important to you, others less so. Being ruthless in turning down the latter is the only way to keep these costs low, and keep budget airline travel something you will want to continue doing in the future.<\/p>\n

I like to treat this add-on fee system like a game that I\u2019m winning by refusing to bite on needless add-ons. The fact that I\u2019m reducing my carbon footprint while saving money is just the cherry on top.<\/p>\n

More From NerdWallet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sam Kemmis writes for NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @samsambutdif.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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