Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and its sister airlines within the Lufthansa Group will be extending their present Green Fares to their entire route networks with effect from December 4, 2024. By opting for a Green Fare for their long-haul flight, SWISS customers will reduce the carbon emissions generated by their individual air travel by 10 per cent through the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The remaining 90 per cent of such emissions will be offset through a financial contribution to quality climate protection projects.
For flights within Europe and to North Africa, the Green Fares reduction/offset mechanism remains as at present: 20 per cent of emissions will be reduced through the use of SAF, and the remaining 80 per cent will be offset by supporting climate protection projects. SWISS has been trialing the extension of its Green Fares to its long-haul services in advance of their expansion networkwide by offering these fares on selected long-haul routes. The fares have proved particularly popular on SWISS’s Zurich-Los Angeles route, with some six per cent of travelers choosing the new fare option.
“Our company has set itself ambitious objectives for making air travel more sustainable,” says SWISS CEO Jens Fehlinger. “And we’re adopting a range of measures to achieve them, including investments in new aircraft and innovative technologies. Extending our Green Fares to all our long-haul services is a major step on this path. Ultimately, more sustainable air travel will only be secured through the efforts of us all. Our customers, too, have a vital role to play. And by offering them choices such as our Green Fares, we are enabling them to make an active contribution to a more sustainable flying world.”
SWISS’s Green Fares offer attractive further benefits, too, such as free rebooking and the ability to earn extra Miles & More miles. Customers can also use their miles to further reduce carbon emissions or for any of a range of personal travel enhancements.
A steadily expanded offer
SWISS first introduced its Green Fares in August 2022 on certain short-haul routes, and has been expanding the product ever since. On SWISS’s domestic services, the Green Fare is the only fare available.
Some five per cent of SWISS travelers opted to make an active contribution to more sustainable air travel last year, with the number of SWISS Business customers doing so as high as 20 per cent. SWISS avoided some 5,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 through its use of sustainable aviation fuel, while a further 48,500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions were offset through investments in climate protection projects. This is the equivalent of the CO₂ emissions produced by around 400 flights from Zurich to New York.
A strong commitment
Sustainable aviation fuel plays a particularly crucial part in reducing carbon emissions. SAF is presently only available in limited volumes, however. So SWISS is actively supporting the further development and the expanded production of this forward-looking fuel.
SWISS and the Lufthansa Group are continuously developing products and solutions that enable customers to make their flying more sustainable. Both business and leisure travelers are already offered a range of ways to offset the carbon emissions generated by their individual air travel. Extensive further information on the present offers to customers to enhance the sustainability of their air travel activities will be found here.
