SriLankan Airlines carbon emissions higher in 2018

ECONOMYNEXT- Efficiency of SriLankan Airlines flights have fallen in 2018, and is contributing more towards carbon emissions, but was ahead of Emirates and Singapore Airlines, in an international ranking compiled by an anti-carbon group.

The atmosfair Airline Index 2018, which tracked more than 33 million flights globally, said that SriLankan Airlines was the 72nd most efficient among 125 regional and international carriers in terms of carbon emissions, down from the 60th spot a year earlier.

Efficiency points (EPs) for SriLankan fell from 56 points in 2017 to 55.6 points in 2018, the index showed.

Overall SriLankan got a D class through the system which classifies airlines from most efficient A through the lowest G classes.

SriLankan ranked ahead of Emirates at 77th, which was classed E. Singapore Airlines was classed F at 87th position. Both Emirates and Singapore Airlines operate wide-bodied aircraft such as A380s, which are less efficient than narrow-bodied jets.

SriLankan’s medium haul flights were the most efficient, with 57.8 points, improving from 54.2 points a year earlier.

Short Haul flights got 57.3 EPs, more efficient from a year earlier at 55.1.

The airline has been switching to Airbus A320neo aircraft for short and medium haul flights over the past two years, which are more fuel efficient.

However, long-haul flights, which were most efficient a year earlier at 57.9 EPs, were found to be most harmful for the environment, at 53.2 points in 2018.

No airline achieved the top A and B classes in 2018.

Charter operator TUI Airways which operates Boeing 737-800 fuel efficient jets with maximized loads to distribute carbon emissions among passengers was ranked first with a C class and 77.7 EPs.

Rest of the top five carriers TUIfly, Alaska Airlines, KLM and Vietnam Airlines also got a C class.

Cathay Pacific came ahead of SriLankan at 27th with a D class.

Lion Air and SpiceJet were among the most efficient budget carriers, with a B class while AirAsia got a C class and FlyDubai D.

Atmosfair is a nonprofit organization for combating climate change, founded in 2004 from a research project of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.