BA has "worst" premium travel carbon footprint, report says

A report out this week warned of the environmental cost of flying first class, with the premium offering at British Airways dragging the airline down.

The 2014 Transatlantic Airline Fuel Efficiency Rankings compared the fuel efficiency and carbon intensity of the top 20 airlines on routes between North America and Europe. They were published by the International Council on Clean Transportation.

The rankings put the UK’s flag carrier at the bottom of the pile, managing just 27 passenger kilometres per litre of fuel. Joining BA were Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa, both at 28 pax-km/L.

Nordic budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle came out on top, with 40 pax-km/L. It was closely followed by low-cost compatriot Airberlin at 35 pax-km/L, and BA bedfellow Aer Lingus at 34 pax-km/L.

The efficiency gap between the best and worst performers was 51% - twice as big as the gap seen between domestic airlines in the US. ICCT said as much as 80% of the efficiency difference could be explained by an aircraft’s fuel economy and its seating configuration.

Airlines that had invested in newer, more advanced aircraft – such as Norwegian, with its lightweight Boeing 787 Dreamliners – were significantly more fuel-efficient than legacy airlines – such as BA’s transatlantic fleet of aging Boeing 747s.

ICCT also pointed the finger at the legacy airlines for the impact of their premium seating, which the newer, low-cost airlines don’t have. The report said first and business class seats represented only 14% of capacity on the transatlantic routes, but accounted for a third of carbon emissions. Almost half of the total emissions at BA and Swiss were attributed to their premium cabins.

BA parent International Airlines Group – which also owns Iberia, Vueling and a 98% stake in Aer Lingus – had previously indicated its intention to replace BA's 747 fleet by 2023.