Greener Choice

What is a Greener Choice?

We label a flight as a Greener Choice when it's estimated to emit at least 6% less CO2 than the average for that route. It’s one of the ways we’re helping travelers to make more informed decisions about the environmental impact of their flights.

Where does Skyscanner's emissions data come from?

Skyscanner's Greener Choices are powered by the Travel Impact Model (TIM). 

What is the Travel Impact Model? 

The Travel Impact Model (TIM) is a method for calculating aviation emissions. The data is sourced and distributed by one or more Coalition Partners of Travalyst, a non-profit organization working with its Coalition Partners to bring about the systemic changes required to enable more sustainable travel, starting with creating open-source frameworks for the industry. TIM is the first for aviation, and with it we hope to help make carbon emissions reporting more standardized and transparent. 

How are emissions calculated in the Travel Impact Model? 

The model considers factors like aircraft type, engine efficiency, and distance between origin and destination to calculate emissions for the flight. An average load factor is then applied, and the total emissions divided by the number of seats in each class to get emissions per passenger.

Why use the Travel Impact Model?

The TIM was not designed to be unique in the industry. In fact, the industry has so many different models for calculating aviation emissions that it can often be confusing for travelers and frustrating for airlines when they see different numbers across different sources. What TIM aims to do is help unify many models and increase transparency, as well as to make the data free and open source so it can be adopted widely. 

How accurate is the data?

The output of the model is already very accurate and will continue to become more accurate over time as more input data becomes available and the industry aligns more broadly on non-CO2 factors. 

What happens when a new, more fuel-efficient aircraft is brought to market?

The TIM will be continually updated to reflect the latest available aircraft and engine efficiency data to ensure developments in the industry are reflected.

Where can I learn more? 

You can read more about Travalyst, its work in aviation, and the TIM model here. 

What do I do if I still have questions? 

Please reach out to Partner Services if you still have questions or concerns.