ABOUT US
Environmental Sustainability
As the only California-based carrier, our goal is to build an airline from the ground up that makes environmentally-sustainable practices part and parcel of our business model, right down to the use of organic hand-soap in the lavatories. Virgin America operates a brand new fleet that is up to 25% more fuel and carbon efficient than the average fleet flying domestically. From its launch, the airline has employed progressive practices and training to reduce its carbon footprint, such as single engine taxiing, maximizing use of efficient ground power, utilizing advanced avionics to fly more efficiently, and cost index flying – the practice of regulating cruising speeds to reduce fuel burn.
Our record:
- Virgin America is the first commercial passenger airline to join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program.
- Virgin America is the first airline to list its carbon footprint according to internationally-accepted standards via The Climate Registry.
- Virgin America is the first airline to offer guests the ability to offset the carbon footprint of their flight – in-flight via the touchscreen Red seatback entertainment through partner CarbonFund.org.
- Virgin America is an annual sponsor of California Parks Foundation environmental restoration projects in Northern California.
- Virgin America is a member of Ceres, a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and public interest organizations that works with companies to address sustainability challenges.
- Virgin America is proud to be affiliated with the Virgin Group, which has committed to reinvesting all profits from Virgin-transport related businesses to renewable fuels research and other initiatives that combat climate change. Although no airline can be perfect, our hope is to build a company with a focus on understanding, measuring, and reducing our impact on the environment.
- On October 1, 2009, Virgin America published its first annual Climate Report, which includes an overview of its industry-leading sustainability efforts as well as comprehensive 2008 emissions data for all six internationally-recognized greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Reports
