Aviation carbon lifecycle emissions

Aeroplane engines burn fuel, which releases Greenhouse Gases into the atmosphere, and this contributes to global warming. The more we fly, the more Greenhouse Gases go into the atmosphere, but some flights emit less per passenger than others.

This is dependent on factors including, but not limited to, the distance between a flight’s origin and destination, the aircraft type, the number of seats in each seating class, and the number of passengers on board. Factors such as more fuel-efficient aircrafts and shorter routes usually result in lower emissions

CO2e, which is short for carbon dioxide equivalent is a measure of lifecycle emissions which we display in kilogram units. This measure is used to compare the emissions from greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential, by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of CO2 with the same global warming potential. Find out more about CO2e.

More informed choices

When choosing flights for your holiday with us, we aim to show you the estimated lifecycle emissions for each of the flight options we have available for your chosen trip, based on the Travel Impact Model (TIM), described in more detail below.

All the estimated lifecycle emissions we display are based on travelling in economy class, so if you later choose to upgrade your seat, your lifecycle emissions will be higher than the estimated emissions you were initially shown. This is because the seats in these sections tend to take up more space and so account for a larger share of the flight’s total emissions.

We display estimated lifecycle emissions rounded to the nearest gram for each flight sector. The total displayed is the sum of the rounded outbound and inbound sectors.

We will let you know if, of the flights we have available, you have selected the flights with the lowest estimated lifecycle emissions.

We will also let you know if we have alternative flight options available for your trip with lower estimated lifecycle emissions.

Sometimes, we are unable to source estimated lifecycle emissions for one or both of the sectors that make up your chosen flight. If this is the case, we will let you know that this data is unavailable on our site for your chosen flights.

We don’t compare emissions with other flights that are not available as part of a First Choice holidays, so there may be lower emission options if you were to book your flights with another operator.

We also don’t compare emissions with other modes of transport, so there may be lower emissions options such as trains for your route. For flight-free travel options, check out our partnership with Byway.

How estimated lifecycle emissions are calculated

First Choice uses emissions information powered by the Travel Impact Model (TIM), using data supplied by Google, who are a coalition partner of Travalyst. Travalyst is a non-profit organisation trying to make it easier to compare sustainability credentials across the travel industry. Find out more about Travalyst.

TIM was created to help standardise information about emissions for flights to make them more transparent.

We have chosen to use data powered by TIM so that the information you’ll see on our site is consistent with other large online travel platforms and you can make a more informed choices wherever you choose to search.
TIM data is available for most, but not all, of the flight options we have available. TIM is a model, meaning that it predicts estimated lifecycle emissions for a given flight.

TIM estimates lifecycle emissions for flights by considering the distance between the origin and destination, and the aircraft type. This flight level estimate is then apportioned per passenger, based on the estimated number of passengers in each seating class.
Actual emissions may and do vary. In some cases, e.g., a last-minute aircraft type change, the impact of your flight can vary greatly from that estimated by TIM at the time of your booking.

TIM is governed by an independent advisory committee that has been set up to improve flight emissions estimates. This includes working towards including a number of other warming effects like persistent contrails in their estimates. Find out more about TIM.