Flybe has launched an eco-labelling scheme that will indicate the environmental impact of a flight.
The label will rate the emissions per seat on a rising scale from A-F, whileground-level pollution created on landing and take-off will be published on a similar scale. The level of noise will also be rated.
The emissions will be based on the approximate flight length, rounded to the nearest 500km.
Flybe will phase out its older, more-polluting aircraft by 2009 – including the fleet it inherited from British Airways’ former subsidiary BA Connect – and has invested more than £2 billion in new aircraft.
These include the 78-seat, turboprop Bombardier Q400, rated one of the world’s least-environmentally damaging aircraft.
The Q400 will have an A-rating for landing and take-off and a B for CO2 emissions. Flybe plan to have a fleet of 60 within two years – making it the world’s largest operator of turboprops.
Its other main aircraft, the 118-seat Embraer 195 jet, rates a B on both counts.
The rating system was developed with consultancy firm Deloitte. However, it will not allow comparisons with rival airlines since the scheme is unique to Flybe. Passengers will be able to carbon-offset emissions through offsetting charity Pure: the Clean Planet Trust.
Flybe chief executive Jim French said: “Our initiative is designed to help consumers identify which type of aircraft or which route is the most sensitive choice to the environment.”
He suggested the move could “help bring pressure across the industry to reduce emissions.”