Why Climate Change Means Even Less Airline Legroom
Norwegian Air’s fleet is the most fuel-efficient, while carriers with luxury cabins and older jets are guzzling fuel.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
New airplanes with spartan quarters appear to offer the greatest fuel efficiency when crossing the Atlantic. So enjoy that new plane smell as your knees buckle—you’re doing your part to fight climate change.
Among 20 airlines that traverse North Atlantic routes, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ranked as the most fuel-efficient last year, with British Airways the least, as measured by passenger-kilometers per liter of jet fuel, according to a report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Norwegian has incorporated a heavy mix of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft as part of its aggressive expansion into the U.S.