How can we combine flying with a sustainable environmental consciousness? To meet this central challenge, at Flyla, we pursue a combined approach and are proud to be the first booking platform offering exclusively climate-conscious flights. Learn about how we achieve this and what it entails here.
1. What we mean when we say climate conscious flying
Terms like "Climate Neutral," "Net Zero," "CO2 Compensation," and "Climate Investments" are increasingly used, all referring to the measures a company takes to compensate its carbon emissions. Most consumers are not aware of the differentiation of these concepts, so let's shed light on them.
- Climate Neutrality: An activity is truly climate-neutral only if it doesn't impose any environmental burden that needs compensating. Advertising with climate neutrality can be deceptive, this is why at Flyla we distance ourselves from this term.
- CO2 Compensation: This involves offsetting the CO2 emissions caused by an activity, product, or company through investments in climate protection projects. This is achieved by converting greenhouse gases into CO2 equivalents and offsetting them through projects reducing CO2 emissions elsewhere.
- Net Zero: Net Zero has it’s own sets of (stricter) standards, requiring a long-term commitment to reducing CO2 emissions in order to fulfill the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, including a 90% reduction in indirect emissions such as logistics, waste, product circularity, and collaborating partners.
- Climate Investments: Aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, these investments contribute to nature conservation, job creation, promotion of new technologies for carbon avoidance, and support for local communities.
2. Our Mission
At Flyla, we aim to help young people explore the world as we also did ourselves. However, times have changed, and along with rising flight prices, there's a collective awareness of climate protection. This raises the crucial question of how budget-friendly flying can be combined with a more educated environmental consciousness. To tackle this challenge, Flyla adopts a holistic solution.
We've observed that airlines often have a significant number of unoccupied seats—on average, one in five. This is where we saw an opportunity: filling these empty seats with students weeks before departure at significantly reduced prices. By collaborating with over 20 airlines to fill their planes with students, we also decrease the CO2 emissions per passenger.
Achieving net zero in air travel won’t be easy to tackle, even with fully occupied planes, emissions continue. Compensating for these emissions is essential for Flyla and is a fundamental part of our vision. This is why we are very proud to be the first booking platform offering exclusively climate-compensated flights.
3. How we compensate (y)our flights
We offset the CO2 emissions of our booked flights by investing in climate projects ensuring long-term carbon avoidance. We're exited to partner with SQUAKE, the industry solution for sustainable travel.
Through our partnership, we've integrated an emissions calculation on flyla.com, displaying the load of each flight route already while you search for a flight. As soon as you take on your flight, SQUAKE converts the greenhouse gases into CO2 equivalents and helps us to compensate them through investments in projects that reduce CO2 emissions. In our upgraded booking process, you from now on get to choose which of our three projects you want to support:
1. Rimba Raya Reserve in Indonesia: Protects around 64,000 hectares in Southeast Borneo, preserving species like the Borneo orangutan. This project prevents illegal logging and poaching while supporting community initiatives.
2. Improved Stoves in Mexico: Addresses the inefficiency of using wood for cooking in rural Mexico, reducing emissions, and minimizing deforestation. The initiative also improves indoor air quality, positively impacting respiratory health.
3. Wind Power in Nicaragua: Supports the transition to renewable energy by investing in wind power projects, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and contributing to a sustainable future.
If you have any further questions about this important topic, please feel free to contact us at franziska@flyla.com.