Green wings: The world's most eco-friendly airlines revealed

Greenest airline: Tui's fleet of 737-800s have propelled the airline to the AAI's top spot. Photo / Getty Images

A UK budget airline which shares its name with a distinctive New Zealand songbird has been named the world's greenest airline.

TUI Airways, which operates out of the United Kingdom and Ireland, was found to be the world's most eco-friendly carrier by the Atmosfair Airline Index rankings.

Air New Zealand came a respectable thirteenth on the comparison of 125 international airlines, while the regional brand Air New Zealand Link was marginally less green at spot 19.

The rankings compiled by AAI compared greenhouse gas emissions of the top 190 airlines in the world and evaluated the carbon output per passenger carried.

The aircraft model, engine type down to the shape of the wingtips and occupancy of flights were all take into account when ranking the airlines' green credentials.
TUI sealed the top spot with its fleet of highly efficient aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and a roster full, highly packed economy seating.

A cramped cattle-class perch might not be as luxurious as the Emirates' first class air suite – one of the largest space allocations in the skies – but at least you can fly with a clear conscience. Unsurprisingly, the UAE carrier Emirates came way down the AAI green rankings at position 108.

Meanwhile other UK airlines, including the national carrier British Airways, were also amongst some of the worst.

In the battle for the moral high-ground in Australian aviation Virgin Australia at 18th pips the national carrier Qantas in 49th. Though, perhaps the enforcement of the airlines' new carry on restrictions will reduce fuel consumption in next year's rankings.

Regional Air New Zealand Link (19) aircraft is marginally less eco-friendly than the national carrier (13). Photo / Getty Images

Dietrich Brockhagen, managing director of Atmosfair, explained his company's AAI rankings show that more needs to be done.

"Our results show that the efficiency improvements of the vast majority of airlines worldwide is not sufficient.

"We need new, synthetic and CO2-neutral fuels and other more radical measures to curb CO2 emissions in the sector," he said, in a statement accompanying the results.

The report praises airlines running the latest generation of aircraft such as the Boeing 787-9, Airbus A350-900 or the A320neo in their fleets which are also achieving the most efficient results on their carbon output per passenger.

The statement insisted that "new aircraft models considerably raise the bar in terms of carbon efficiency."

Airlines ranked by environmental impact

1. Tui Airways, UK 2. LATAM Airlines, Brazil 3. China West Air, China 4. Tuifly, Germany  5. Transavia.com, France 6. SunExpress, Turkey 7. Thomas Cook Airlines, UK 8. Air Europa Express, Spain 9. Condor Flugdienst, Germany 10. Juneyao Airlines, China 11. Jet2.com, UK 12. Air Europa, Spain 13. Air New Zealand  14. Vietnam Airlines  15. Beijing Capital Airlines, China 16. Siberia Airlines, Russia 17. KLM , Netherlands 18. Virgin Australia International  19. Air New Zealand Link  20. Air Caraibes, Guadeloupe 21 Avianca Kolumbien 22. Alaska Airlines, USA 22. Shandong Airlines, China 22. Sichuan Airlines, China 22. Thai Airways International  26. Air Transat, Canada 27. UTair Aviation, Russia 28. Air India Express  29. Hong Kong Airlines  30. Shenzhen Airlines, China 31. Xiamen Airlines Company, China 32. Air Canada  32. Hainan Airlines, China 34. Iberia, Spain 35. Ural Airlines, Russia 36. Finnair, Finnland 37. China Eastern Airlines  38. Japan Airlines, Japan 39. Air India 40. El Al Airlines, Israel 41. Air China 42. Batik Air, Indonesia 43. Royal Air Maroc Express, Morocco 44. Garuda Indonesia  45. Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong 45. Delta Air Lines, USA 47. Corsair, France 48. TAP Portugal  49. Qantas Airways, Australia 50. Aerolineas Argentinas 50. United Airlines, USA 52. China Southern Airlines   53. TianJin Airlines, China 54. Icelandair  55. Shanghai Airlines, China 56. Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong 57. Hawaiian Airlines, USA 58. American Airlines, USA 58. MASwings, Malaysia 58. Ukraine Int. Airlines  61. All Nippon Airways, Japan 61. Malaysia Airlines  63. Copa Airlines, Panama

64. Aeromexico, Mexico 65. Alitalia, Italy 66. Lufthansa, Germany 67. Singapore Airlines 68. Aeroflot, Russia 69. Turkish Airlines 70. Asiana Airlines, South Korea 71. Korean Air, South Korea 72. Sri Lankan Airlines 73. Air France 74. British Airways UK 75. Iberia Regional, Spain 76. Royal Air Maroc Marokko 77. QantasLink, Australia 78. SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Sweden 79. EVA Airways, Taiwan 79. SilkAir, Singapore 81. Austrian Airlines 82. China Airlines, Taiwan 83. Virgin Atlantic, UK 84. Brussels Airlines, Belgium 85. South African Express, South Africa 86. Air Algerie, Algeria 87. Pakistan Int. Airlines 87. Philippine Airlines 89. Swiss Air 90. Alaska Horizon, USA 91. Jazz Aviation, Canada 92. PAL Express, Philippines 93. ANA Wings, Japan 94. Nordic Regional Airlines, Finland 95. Gulf Air, Bahrain 96. Etihad Airways UAE 97. LOT - Polish Airlines 98. Flybe, UK 99 Lufthansa Regional, Germany 100. Qatar Airways 101. Egyptair 102. BA CityFlyer, UK 103. Oman Air 104. HOP! France 104. Kuwait Airways 106. Ohana by Hawaiian, USA 107. J-Air, Japan 108 Emirates, UAE 109. Swiss Global Air Lines 110. Saudi Arabian Airlines 111. South African Airways 112. Aeromexico Connect, Mexico 113. Austral Lineas Aereas, Argentina 114. Royal Jordanian 115. Ethiopian Airlines 116. Virgin Australia Regional 117. Air Astana, Kazakstan 118. Mahan Air, Iran 119. United Express, USA 120. TAP Express, Portugal 121. Delta Connection, USA 122. Envoy Air, USA 123. Kenya Airways 124. Egyptair Express 125. South African Airlink

Source: Atmosfair