FLY greener

About FLY greener

At Cathay Pacific, we take our environmental and social responsibilities seriously. We acknowledge the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate, ecosystems and communities and recognise that aviation is a significant source of those emissions.

We are also committed to taking action to address this important issue. We are making a wide range of improvements to improve the environmental performance both of our aircraft and of our activities on the ground. We have improved fuel efficiency by 20% across our fleet since 1998 and have significantly reduced noise, waste and water use in our operations.

However, even though modern aircraft are increasingly fuel efficient, flying inevitably releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; there are currently no emissions-free substitutes for jet fuel, but we will closely monitor any research findings in this area.

Among our efforts to tackle greenhouse gases, Cathay Pacific Group has set up the FLY greener offset programme. Offset programmes allow participants to contribute to projects that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere or prevent it being released in the first place. FLY greener currently supports a wind farm near Shanghai; money from Fly greener therefore supports electricity generation from wind power, which does not release greenhouse gases. We will shortly announce plans to bring in more projects.

The FLY greener programme is voluntary; if passengers want to take part, they may use cash or Asia Miles to buy offset the carbon dioxide emissions of their flight. Our on-line calculator will work how much carbon dioxide is released by the passenger's trip; the passenger can decide to pay for one flight only or make a lump sum contribution. CX Group also takes part in the programme as it offsets the carbon dioxide emitted from duty travel on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights.

The FLY greener programme is the first provided by any Asian airline and the first programme in Asia to allow frequent flyer miles to be used for payment.

To learn more about our carbon management strategies please see our latest Corporate Social Responsibility Report.