Fuel for Thought: The Airlines Driving Sustainable Air Travel
11th February 2025
The aviation industry is at a crucial turning point in its journey toward sustainability. As global air passenger demand reached record highs in 2024 – a 10.4% increase compared to 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 3.8% according to IATA. Airlines, airports, and manufacturers committing to initiatives like International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s ‘Fly Net Zero by 2050’ policies, the industry is actively working toward reducing its carbon footprint.
At Data Clarity, we are dedicated to fostering a sustainable change in the aviation industry. Our commitment to valued clients like easyJet and dnata drives us to support a greener future for air travel. We actively track industry leaders making meaningful progress toward sustainability, monitoring their achievements and long-term ambitions for net-zero carbon emissions.
Many airlines are making significant progress toward sustainability. Here’s a glimpse into a few that have been at the forefront of these efforts over the past year.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
As part of The Aviation Challenge in 2024, a KLM flight departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Singapore, demonstrating how commercial flights can operate with minimal environmental impact. The challenge encourages airlines to focus on sustainability rather than distance.
During both pre-flight preparations and onboard initiatives, KLM tested various initiatives aimed at shaping long-term sustainability opportunities for the future.
Optimising onboard weight distribution helps reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. By strategically balancing weight across the aircraft, a slight lift under the nose is created, decreasing air resistance, and improving flight efficiency.
To further minimise environmental impact, KLM encourages World Business Class passengers to pre-order meals, ensuring only the necessary amount of food is loaded onboard – leading to a significant reduction in food waste. Also, passengers are advised to pack lightly to help lower the aircrafts overall weight.
In an effort to go paperless, KLM urges travellers to switch to digital onboarding passes. This has led to an 84% reduction in printed boarding passes since May 2024.
easyJet
easyJet has unveiled online its ambitious net-zero roadmap, with an intermediate target of reducing carbon emissions intensity by 35% by 2035.
Beyond focusing on emissions reductions, the airline is also prioritising sustainability initiatives across its operations. In 2024, easyJet introduced a new initiative to replace disposable cups and cutlery with reusable alternatives for its 14,000 crew members, eliminating 10 million single-use items annually. The airline is also improving fuel efficiency by reducing aircraft weight through the adoption of an e-techlog system, replacing traditional paper-based technical and cabin logs. In 2025, this shift will save over 300,000 sheets of paper each year.
In 2025, easyJet will also become the first airline globally to trial a lighter-weight paint, which will gradually be rolled out across its fleet. Once fully implemented by 2029, it is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 4,095 tonnes.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska airlines has demonstrated great transparency about its CO2 emissions and the steps it’s taking to reduce its environmental impact. The airline has made significant progress in waste reduction and emissions management through various initiatives. Through its latest sustainability report, for example, by enabling passengers to pre-order meals, Alaska Airlines has achieved a 61% reduction in food waste since 2019. That’s equivalent to 460,000 meals.
Inflight recycling has also improved, with flight attendants increasing onboard recycling rates from 41% in 2022, to 63% in 2023, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Alaska airlines has also eliminated more than 55 million plastic cups annually by replacing them with responsibly sourced paper cups.
Alaska airlines is also enhancing operational efficiency in line with its goal of becoming the most fuel-efficient airline. Pilots are contributing to fuel savings by using single-engine taxi procedures when safe, saving 1.6 million gallons of jet fuel, while dispatches optimise flight paths using AI software, resulting in an additional 1.2 million gallons saved.
Delta Air Lines
As Delta celebrates its 100th anniversary, the airline is focusing on shaping the future of aviation with a strong emphasis on sustainability. This is highlighted by its partnership with Airbus UpNext to drive the development of next-generation aviation technologies, including operations to:
Network of Innovation Labs: Delta and Airbus are partnering to develop next-generation aviation technologies through collaboration in innovation labs. They will explore advancements in wing performance, fuel efficiency, advanced aircraft assistance and other key areas, with Delta providing ongoing feedback. This partnership includes testing early-stage features on Delta’s fleet.
Future Flight Operations: Delta will test Airbus’s “fello’fly” technique, inspired by migrating geese, where one aircraft creates an uplift to improve fuel efficiency for the following aircraft. This “wake energy retrieval” method aims to reduce fuel consumption, with Delta participating in the next test phase scheduled for the second half of 2025.
TUI
In 2024, TUI Airline took a significant step towards enhancing its sustainability efforts by adopting Fuel Insight and FlightPulse® for its operations. This combination of advanced software will enable TUI Airline to optimise fuel efficiency, further reducing emissions and operating more sustainably.
TUI Airline will integrate Fuel Insight and FlightPulse® under a unified data monitoring system, reinforcing TUI’s group commitment to aviation sustainability leadership. Fuel Insight offers deeper visibility into fuel consumption patterns, allowing TUI to optimise flight routes for better fuel management. Whereas FlightPulse® provides pilots wit detailed insights into individual flight data, encouraging them to take a greater role in sustainability initiatives.
While TUI Airline is already recognised as a global leader in carbon efficiency, the integration of these tools will further enhance its ability to lead in aviation sustainability.
