Beginning January 1, 2012, all airlines flying to and from Europe are required to have carbon dioxide emissions allowances. Air France is the first airline to register to trade emissions allowances directly on Bluenext. Air France has thoroughly prepared to comply with the new requirements and its membership in Bluenext reinforces its long-lasting environmental commitment.

Air France is pursuing a long-term ambitious policy to improve the energy performance of its aircraft and a major component is the modernization of its fleet. With an average age of nine years, Air France operates one of Europe’s most modern, rationalized fleets. Priority attention also is being focused on reducing the weight of aircraft in every area: every kilogram of weight removed represents a savings of 80 metric tons of CO2 per year. The initiative covers all cabin equipment, including seating and serving equipment (containers, trolleys, storage) for which the mass has been reduced by an average of 15% per year between 2006 and 2012.

Download the press release about the lowest CO2 emissions flight

In another development, Air France KLM was voted airline industry leader for 2011 for corporate social responsibility and confirmed in the World and Europe indices of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). On the strength of its performance, Air France was named for the seventh time as the leader for the airline sector and, for the third time, ranked first in the broader “Transport and Leisure” sector.

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