thePULSEAirlines and Car Rental Companies Are Doing Their Green Part, Too.
By Steve Henricksen
BY AIR
Given the enormous size of commercial airplanes/airbuses these days, we might be inclined to simply write airlines off as completely eco-Unfriendly and about as non-green as it gets. But instead, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, since they have been making great strides in greenness. Take a look at 4 major airlines that really have been doing their part:
Virgin Atlantic
In addition to cutting back on their own CO2 emissions and making their flight plans as efficient as possible, Virgin Atlantic has partnered with My Climate to work on carbon offsetting projects in Indonesia and India..
Jet Blue
Jet Blue also has a carbon offsetting program. It allows the passengers to pay a few dollars to offset their trip. The company is also reducing its ecological footprint by idling their planes less, eliminating disposable headsets, reducing the size of their boarding documents, and recycling fuel. The Jet Blue website even offers a list of green tips.
Continental
Continental recently spent over $16 billion dollars making its fleet more fuel efficient. They retain a full-time staff of environmentalists, use winglets to increase their jets’ fuel efficiency, design green terminals, and recycle chemical waste.
Southwest
Southwest definitely gets an A+ as the world’s most efficient airline. They have paperless tickets, fuel-saving winglets, fleet-wide advanced avionics and nearly a book’s worth of other eco-friendly upgrades. They are the EPA’s Blue Skyways Collaborative Partner and have, since 1995, won several environmental awards. They save 274 million pounds of CO2 per million flights. They recycle oil and are even working to reduce noise pollution.
BY LAND
OK, so now you’ve flown to your destination on a green-conscious airline. Next comes renting a car. These days, you can rent a hybrid at many major car rental companies. If you’re like me, you’ve always tried to book the most fuel efficient, low-impact vehicle in advance, only to find that when you arrive at the rental kiosk, you’re pressured to “upgrade” to a sports car of minivan. Rental car companies tend to overbook and then wind up pushing the gas-guzzling leftovers. They act as though they’re doing you a favor, but what they’re really sticking you with extra gasoline expenses. (Note: don’t prepay for gas, that’s one way they trick you. If you can return the car with the car on E, you can break even. Otherwise, when you return the car, you’re handing over free gas to the rental company.) So the next time you plan on renting a car, careful of the tricks, and really stick to your guns and insist on a hybrid.
Avis, Hertz, Fox Rent-a-Car, and Enterprise all have hybrids in their fleets. Enterprise ranks highest in terms of having the most hybrids in stock during high-travel times (holidays, etc.) and the most variety (both full-size and mid-size). Most hybrids are a bit more expensive to rent than a standard sedan, but needing to fill the tank less can offset the higher cost.
No matter what company you rent from, you’re probably better off calling the rental company instead of booking online. Making a fuss on the phone goes a long way and helps ensure that if a hybrid is available and if you’ve specifically booked it, they’ll have it ready for you when you arrive. Keep in mind, the less populous an area is, the less likely they’ll have a hybrid. At that point, just go for fuel efficiency and give an emphatic NO when someone tries to push a V-8 monster on you.
