We are still very far from coining plane travel as a sustainable travel option. Unfortunately, there is no sustainable way to travel by air, and the answer to making plane travel sustainable is to fly as little as you possibly can. Flying direct rather than taking multiple planes for connections helps lower your travel emissions, and flying coach rather than first or business class packs more people into the plane which decreases the planes’ per capita footprints.

Air travel alone greatly increases our carbon footprints, making planes innately unsustainable. Until our aircraft can get up to speed with the demands it takes to be carbon-neutral, planes are pumping countless greenhouse gases into the environment. If you’re going to fly anyway, and you’re wondering how to fly more sustainably while on your flight, this post is for you.

How to Make Air Travel More Sustainable

There is undoubtedly loads of waste that come from the production it takes to tame the circus of human passengers 30,000 feet up in the air. From food, beverages, disposable entertainment items, etc. there’s a lot more than just the crew and passengers that board the metal vessel in the sky. Until the engineers out there can figure out a way to optimize flight fuel or electrify our planes and get them running on clean energy, we might as well make our time in the sky as sustainable as possible.

Opt-out

The principal rule in sustainability is opting out: if you don’t need something, don’t consume it. There are a lot of offerings on flights, offerings that lead very short lives falling prey to the countless trash runs flight attendants make throughout the flight (I’m not ragging on them I know they’re making other people’s jobs easier by keeping the plane clean). If you’re wondering how to make airplanes more environmentally friendly, opting out is the easiest way solution.

Some long flights will offer many comfort accommodations like blankets, pillows, eyemasks, earbuds, etc., and if you know you don’t need any of these things to make it through the flight, then keep the goods in their packaging and prevent any unnecessary waste. Airlines provide these types of things for their customer service ratings rather than your actual comfort, which makes sense in a capitalist society, since we are all perfectly capable of making it through flights without things we didn’t think to pack for the flight in the first place.

Food and Drink

I’m pretty certain that, at this point, all flights do a complementary food and beverage service. If you aren’t famished or parched, think about declining the mixed nuts and bevy. Pro travel tip: drinking carbonated drinks in flight altitude can lead to stomach pain and bloating from the altitude so if this applies to you, stick with your water bottle and save a can.

On the other hand, if you are actually parched or really like maxing the bang for your buck, take just the can rather than the additional napkin and cup with ice that the flight attendants throw into the satisfaction mix. The same goes for those expensive snack boxes; they take a number out of Trader Joe’s book with all of that unnecessary packaging… only for it to fall victim to the trash run soon after. Vote with your dollar and opt-out.

Lastly, if you are eating food from the airline, opt for the vegetarian options and avoid any meat foods the flight may be offering. You don’t need to commit the rest of your life to hard-core veganism because you chose a veggie option once, but consider it while you’re in the air. Animal agriculture produces a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, so simply opting out of the meat option will help balance out that in-flight carbon footprint.

Bring Your Own

An easier way to follow the opt-out rule is to just BYO. The most exciting “how to fly sustainably” tip is to bring what you love from home! Most foods make it through security, but unfortunately, drinks have to stay behind. After some seasoned air travel, you’ll know more about what you want to have on the plane and what works best for you. Pack that ridiculous travel pillow that everyone secretly wishes they had by hour four, don’t forget your headphones especially the ones with an actual aux cord, make a PB&J in a Tupperware or compostable baggie or whatever you have, and bring an empty water bottle to fill up before you board.

There are so many ways to save money and resources when it comes to enjoying your flight. See my flight essentials for my personal favorites for air travel. We can master sustainable consumerism by thinking about options ahead of time to make a decision that’s true to what we want instead of the options deciding for us.

Bon voyage!