Why economy is the cleanest way to fly

Monday, 9 February 2026

Grant Bradley is an aviation and business journalist

Fancy flying long-haul in an economy-only plane that’s almost completely full?

If you could, you’d be doing your bit to save the planet.

Premium seats take up more room, meaning it takes more fuel and results in more emissions.

The environmental impact of business class travel has been known for years. The NZ Government’s procurement guidelines state it is three times more polluting in business class than in economy on long-haul flights.

That’s been starkly confirmed by a new international study which shows that doing away with premium in favour of an all-economy layout and packing planes until nearly every seat is filled could quickly cut fuel use without reducing the number of flights.

That would mean reduced emissions for an industry that's committed to cutting them to net zero by 2050.

The research, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment cites figures which show business and first class seats are up to five times more CO2 intensive - emissions per passenger - than economy class seats.

It studied the journeys of 3.5 billion passengers (82% of the total annually) which found that 6.8 trillion kilometres of flying caused 577m tonnes of CO2 emissions.

It finds that increasing passenger numbers to the maximum seating configuration for the most efficient aircraft (Airbus 350 and Boeing 787) would reduce emissions by 21.5% to 56.7%, assuming no changes in the load factor.

And there would be a further 16% reduction in emissions if 95% of the seats were occupied. (Flights studied operated at around 80% full.)

The study notes that while airlines say fuel savings are in their economic interest, many fly old aircraft and low load factors, sometimes as a result of government subsidies forcing them to fly routes where demand is marginal.

And the delivery of new generation planes has been slowed by supply chain problems.

With demand for more premium seats soaring, there’s something of an airline arms race to provide passengers with more of what they want.

And it's highly profitable.

At the end of last year, century-old Delta Air Lines, for the first time in its history, was generating more revenue from premium cabins. It sees future growth at the premium end of the market as it was operating at the top of the “K” in the so-called K-shaped economy, with more revenue coming from higher-spending customers.

It’s the same throughout the industry, where International Air Transport Association figures show business class booking growth rates are outpacing those in economy.

Other airlines serving New Zealand, including Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, are revamping their business class cabins and American Airlines is deploying a more luxurious aircraft to Auckland.

Air New Zealand, pre-pandemic was described by its former sustainability panel chair as being on a journey to be the ‘’world's least unsustainable airline.’’ But like its rivals, it is also on a rapid path to ‘’premiumisation.’’

Its first Dreamliners delivered in 2014 had 302 seats with 13% of them business class or premium economy. Its new tranche of 787s will have 219 seats with premium seats making up 43% of the plane. On the ground, customers who travel at the pointy end of planes are being rewarded with better perks.

The airline’s chief sustainability and corporate affairs Kiri Hannifin says cabin layout balances a range of factors including customer demand, operational requirements, and sustainability considerations.

Across the domestic and narrowbody fleet it operates economy-only aircraft (flying both domestic and some short-haul international routes), which maximises the number of passengers and helps reduce emissions intensity per passenger, she says.

For airlines based in geographically remote places like this country, long-haul flying is unavoidable - and this is fundamentally different from markets like Europe where short-haul flying and other forms of transport are a realistic option.

As a result, long-haul aircraft account for most of Air NZ emissions.

Given the distance to travel to and from New Zealand, it offers premium seating because ‘’a proportion’’ of customers want or expect this for long-haul travel.

''We continue to monitor and report emissions intensity; however, our 2030 emissions guidance is focused on total net emissions rather than emissions intensity per passenger alone. This reflects the reality that absolute emissions are what matter most for the climate, and this aligns with our 2050 net zero carbon emissions target,’’ says Hannifin.

While there’s no sign across the industry of passengers eschewing business class, the recovery of new generation aircraft production and fuller flights, thanks to AI-assisted booking, will help make flying more efficient. And new medicine could contribute.

Analysts at Wall Street firm Jeffreys say weight loss jabs and pills could help cut passenger weight by 10%, translate to around 2% total aircraft weight savings, up to 1.5% lower fuel costs - and reduced emissions.