Routehappy is an API that helps airlines and sales channels to offer “Amenities” as part of the onboard experience, including seat pitch and type, WiFi, power, entertainment and more, to consumers at the time of booking.
ATPCO plans to create a new Amenity that will use IATA CO2 Connect data to help shoppers understand the carbon cost of various itinerary options.
The agreement was signed by Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general; and Alex Zoghlin, CEO of ATPCO, during IATA’s 79th Annual General Meeting.
Walsh said that travelers want to understand their flight’s environmental impact in a consistent, transparent and trustworthy way. IATA CO2 Connect, he said, is the most accurate tool providing this information.
Zoghlin said it’s clear there is a growing interest from passengers, corporate, travel management companies and travel agents to receive CO2 information so they can use it to compare flights and make a more sustainable choice. IATA’s CO2 Connect, he said, offers airline-specific fuel burn data, “and we are looking forward to making this available to our growing list of Routehappy Rich Content partners.”
Multiple studies, according to an announcement, have shown that consumers and corporate travelers want access to carbon emissions data, and that this information can influence purchasing decisions.
Studies include:
• A recent IATA survey shows that nearly two-thirds of travelers believe they have a responsibility to know the carbon emissions of their flights, and a third of air travelers believe carbon emissions is the most important factor in future travel decisions.
• Trip.com’s 2022 sustainable travel report found that 78.7% of respondents agree that sustainable travel is vital, while 74.9% are likely to book sustainable travel in the future.
• ATPCO’s annual consumer shopper survey, published in February 2022, found that 62% of shoppers think it’s extremely important to compare carbon emissions when flight shopping and that 63% claim that aircraft-specific sustainability practices would influence the flight they book.
• Launched in June 2022, IATA CO2 Connect provides airline-specific actual fuel burn information and load factors. This sets it apart from theoretical data models, which also exist on the market. It uses actual fuel burn data from 74 aircraft types, representing 98% of the active global passenger fleet, and considers traffic data from 881 aircraft operators representing 93% of global air travel.
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