Aviation

Aviation makes up the largest proportion of a holiday’s carbon emissions. In fact, a single long-haul flight can generate more carbon emissions than any other activity you do in a given year.

That’s why Travalyst is striving to make it easier for you to see and understand the impact of your travel decisions at the time of booking, while working with the industry behind the scenes to reduce the environmental impact of the sector.

Consumer demand

According to recent research by Trip.com, 78.7% of respondents agree that sustainable travel is vital and 74.9% are likely to book sustainable travel options in the future.

However, a third (32.9%) state that there is a lack of sustainable options, while more than a quarter (25.4%) say sustainable travel options aren’t clearly labelled.

In other words, many of us want to make more responsible tourism choices but don’t know where to start.

That’s where Travalyst comes in.

The right information – at the right time

We’re harnessing the collective power of our partners, influencing how the industry operates, and accelerating consumer access to sustainability information.

Across Google, Skyscanner, and Booking.com you can now see the same emissions data when you search for flights; you can then select a flight with lower-than-average carbon emissions, reducing the carbon footprint of your trip.

Over time, our goal is to make this information available everywhere, no matter how you book your travel. We’ll also be working to expand current reporting to include a broader view of sustainability in aviation, beyond carbon emissions.

Detail on how the emissions model works is available here.

What this looks like

Search for a flight on Google, Skyscanner or Booking.com and this is what you’ll see:

At this stage, although the model and the calculations shown will be consistent, individual partners are responsible for how they implement or display the results; for example via a flag, or simply reporting of the numbers next to results.

In the longer term

This is just one small step for aviation. In the longer term, decarbonisation of the industry will need increased investment, policy change and significant technological innovation – all of which we’re seeking to accelerate through collaboration.

What you can do now

• Aim to cut back your carbon footprint when you travel by tracking how much you fly and picking the lowest impact options where possible. Currently Google, Skyscanner and Booking.com allow you to do that.
• Consider alternatives to flying, such as trains, coaches and ferries. We are working with our partners to broaden the availability of emissions data on transport as a whole; you can now search for train transport on Google, while Skyscanner shows Greener Choices on car rentals.
• When choosing air travel, opt to pay the extra to offset your carbon emissions. While we acknowledge that offsetting is not a solution, it can help keep emissions down while we work on wider systemic change. Several of our partners including Trip.com and Amadeus have partnered with CHOOOSE, a climate tech company to offset emissions through carbon removals, offsets and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Carbon removal and SAF are generally more expensive, but they represent far more effective ways to reduce aviation’s environmental impact.