The offset charge has allowed Air France to take part in reforestation, forest preservation and renewable energy projects to help increase the carbon intake from the atmosphere, leading to net-zero carbon production and emission in the airline’s domestic operations.

The 787 Dreamliner on the ground in Paris (Photo: Air France)

To enable its customers to get involved with its initiative for carbon-neutral flying, the airline is enabling the public to vote on one project which it should support the fundings raised by carbon offsetting.

These projects include forest preservation in the Amazon river basin in Brazil, a program in Senegal that would allow people without electricity access to take advantage of a renewable energy source and a biogas production program in Vietnam to develop a new source of energy from waste.

The winning project will begin to benefit from Air France’s offsetting initiative this year. All of the projects can be viewed and voted on on a dedicated website.

The Skyteam carrier started offering passengers to travel in a ‘carbon-neutral’ way on January 1. Passengers taking domestic Air France flights through mainland France are able to offset “100% of carbon dioxide emissions,” according to the airline. This means that 450 flights and 57,000 customers are being offset per day.

Air France is hoping to reduce emissions to 50 percent of its 2005 levels by 2030 by modernizing its fleet, reducing the weight onboard its aircraft with lighter equipment and digitalizing its press and by optimizing its flight plans to eco-pilot flights. The airline is further offering an eco-friendly experience by banning single-use plastics on its flights and ensuring recyclable waste is properly sorted.

Cre: Airline Geek

Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM