What’s the best way to lower my carbon footprint when flying?

Q I know that you fly a great deal. Given the concern about CO2-fuelled global warming, as witnessed by the recent climate change protests in London and elsewhere, please tell me what you do to minimise the impact of your journeys?

Lesley D

A Leaving aside for just a moment the environmental concerns, I believe that travel and tourism comprise a force for good. Aviation has facilitated the transfer of wealth from richer countries to poorer, creating many jobs and helping to fund infrastructure improvements.

But it is important for travellers to minimise the environmental harm made by their individual journeys.

Aviation’s damage per passenger is steadily declining as aircraft become more efficient and airlines drive up the “load factor” – reducing the number of empty seats on the average flight. (Incidentally, overbooking can make an important contribution to this.)

You can easily find an airline’s load factor online. In March 2019, British Airways achieved 83.7 per cent, easyJet 89.7 per cent and Ryanair 96 per cent.

Another factor to take into account is the relative efficiency of the aircraft. The Airbus A321neo jets belonging to easyJet and the Boeing 737 Max planes, which Ryanair plans to fly, are the most efficient short-haul aircraft.

Long-haul, the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner are highly efficient. While I would love to think that air passengers seek out the lowest-impact aircraft and airlines, the evidence is that they don’t – otherwise British Airways would not be keeping on its 25-year-old fleet of gas-guzzling Boeing 747s. BA has the highest number of any airline, and intends to keep flying them until the end of 2022.

I invariably travel in economy class. Premium seats have a much heavier carbon footprint per passenger. The most damaging to the planet is Etihad’s The Residence, the three-room “suite in the sky” complete with butler service. Only executive jets are more wasteful.

Longer term, I am looking forward to the arrival of electric aircraft, which could become the norm for shorter journeys.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder