Flying Greener Skies: Virgin America Named Most Eco-Friendly Airline

Virgin America passengers can use the touch-screen RED entertainment system to buy carbon offsets.

We’re always looking for ways to green our daily routine, from toting reusable bags to the grocery store to reading digital newspapers and books. Yet, when flying across the country, what choices are there to help reduce our carbon footprint? SmarterTravel, an online resource that reports travel news and lists deals and tips for its users, announced its Editors’ Choice Awards and named Virgin America as this year’s Most Eco-Friendly Airline.

The first airline to list its carbon footprint, according to standards from The Climate Registry, Virgin America launched with environmentally friendly practices and policies. Since its debut in 2007, the airline has operated a fleet up to 25 percent more fuel-efficient than the average fleet flying within the United States. Virgin America also practices single-engine taxiing, maximizes use of efficient ground power, uses advanced avionics to fly more efficiently and employs the practice of cost-index flying — regulating cruising speeds to reduce fuel burn. The airline also recycles in-flight waste from about 47 percent of its flights. Passengers can use the touch-screen RED seatback entertainment to purchase carbon offsets for their flights from Carbonfund.org. (The carbon offset of a 6,000-mile or less flight, for example, is $11.33.)

In addition to these efforts, Virgin America’s California headquarters recently completed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process, an international certification system to recognize eco-friendly buildings and communities. The airline also will be one of two anchor tenants in San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2 facility, designed to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption. After the terminal opens in 2011, it is expected to have Silver LEED Certification. Terminal 2 will offer preferential parking for hybrid cars and is the first airport dining program in the country to recruit Slow Food vendors.

Virgin America has flights available in many of the United States’ major cities, including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Seattle, Toronto, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The airline plans to announce service to three additional destinations later this year.

JetBlue, Continental and Delta also have implemented green initiatives over the past few years. For more on airlines’ technological advances, including which carriers feature in-flight Wi-Fi, check out “Fly the Tech-Friendly Skies” in the July/August issue of VIVmag. And tell us: What services are most important to you when it comes to choosing an airline?