Eco-friendly transportation appeals to 83 percent of travelers, but only half prioritize it when planning, according to a Booking.com study. The Lufthansa Group makes it easier to explore the world with a reduced carbon footprint thanks to a pioneering approach that embraces technology to shape a more sustainable future for aviation.
The company’s ambitious goals include halving net carbon emissions between 2019 and 2030 and achieving a CO2-neutral balance by 2050. You can support its mission with more sustainable choices like Green Fares on any of the group’s airlines, including the flagship Lufthansa, SWISS, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Discover, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Air Dolomiti. These types of travel decisions—Green Fares reduce CO2 emissions from flying by 20 percent—are some of the most important steps in reducing your carbon footprint.
How used cooking oil fuels eco-friendlier flights
Biofuel
Courtesy of Lufthansa Group
Among the most significant ways that the Lufthansa Group is at the forefront of greener aviation is in how it’s driven the next generation of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) since 2012. As one of the leading customers for SAF in Europe, the company was an early adopter of the first viable SAF, made from organic waste like used cooking oils blended with kerosene (the maximum ratio currently allowed is 50-50).
Pure SAF creates a CO2 cycle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 80 percent over the fuel’s lifespan. In addition to using SAFs, Lufthansa Group supports the industry in improving this technology by optimizing supply chains, future production, and aircraft use, raising the need for advanced synthetic SAFs in the future.
Shark-like aerodynamics
It’s not just what powers airplanes that matters; aerodynamics also plays an impactful role in efficiency. To improve airflow around aircraft fuselage, the group worked with chemical coatings manufacturer BASF and looked to the sea for a solution. AeroSHARK is a film—just 50 micrometers (less than .002 inches) thick—that draws inspiration from shark skin, reducing friction through air-channeling microgrooves called riblets. This improves fuel efficiency by more than 1 percent and cuts emissions by the same amount.
Cost-effective and scalable, the technology took flight in 2023 on all SWISS 777-300ERs and four Lufthansa Cargo 777Fs. This achievement marks the first time an airline has outfitted an entire Boeing long-haul fleet with the efficiency-boosting new “skin.” As its use expands, AeroSHARK could save more than 6 million tons of CO2 each year if used on the global fleet of planes.
Greener transport today
Modern planes reduce the impact of travel
Courtesy of Lufthansa Group
Going more than skin deep in making its airplanes more efficient, the Lufthansa Group is adding more than 250 new aircraft over the next eight years. This fleet modernization will reduce fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent on every flight, an effort that’s the single biggest lever in lowering the environmental impact of flying today. The company has also introduced noise-reducing measures like installing vortex generators that make flying quieter during the approach phase.
The Lufthansa Group is flying smarter as well, partnering with Google Cloud to swiftly sift through the 10,000 data points produced every minute by each plane in use. AI then makes suggestions—including more efficient flight speeds or aircraft sizes, depending on demand—for controllers to evaluate. SWISS flights alone saved 9,590 tons of CO2 emissions in 2022 using AI.
Innovations for an eco-friendlier future
Alternative fuels can power planes more efficiently.
Courtesy of Lufthansa Group
Looking ahead, Lufthansa Group wants to be the first to fly with innovative sun-to-liquid fuel to further reduce CO2 emissions. It works by using fields of mirrors to reflect light into a tower, which concentrates the solar radiation at more than 2,700°F to drive a reactor. This transforms biowaste from a local paper mill (methane and carbon dioxide) into renewable jet fuel—without requiring arable land or competing with food production. The process has a remarkably high-efficiency potential because it takes few steps to convert the energy. SWISS aims to adopt this technology first, striving to mix the first volumes of solar fuel and kerosene in 2025.
Lufthansa Technik is also paving the way for ground supply of hydrogen-powered aircraft by conducting ground testing at its Hamburg facilities. The team fitted a decommissioned Airbus A320 with test systems, an internal tank for liquid hydrogen (LH2), and an onboard fuel cell for scientists to study. One barrier they hope to crack is refueling a long-haul aircraft with LH2, which currently takes several hours, making the turnaround time impractical.
How passengers can contribute to more sustainable flying
Fleet livery reflected in a terminal window
Courtesy of Lufthansa Group
Around 4 percent of those who book with Lufthansa Group choose to fly more sustainably. After selecting flights, passengers can support their favorite SAF, high-quality climate-protection projects, or both. You can use these Lufthansa offers to reduce or offset flight-related CO2 emissions before, during, or after a trip.
In early 2023, the company was also the first airline group to introduce Green Fares, which fully offset individuals’ flight-related CO2 emissions. Already, more than 1 million passengers have selected this option, available in Europe and on routes to North Africa. Twenty percent of the reduction comes from SAF, and the remainder from compensation projects, which include CarbonCure (capturing CO2 in fresh concrete).
Another initiative involves Biochar technology, which converts landfill biomass, such as clean waste wood and forest residues, into a charcoal-like substance that improves plant growth and supports microorganisms, reducing reliance on soil-degrading fertilizers. It can boost crop and dairy yields, counteract food shortages, and store water to help mitigate drought risks.
In its first year, Green Fares saved 169,755,955 pounds of CO2—equal to the emissions from 12,000 Airbus A320neo flights from Hamburg to Munich. Discover more about the group’s commitment to the climate and environment.
