Greens Have Conniption Fit, Crying Eco-Scandal Over Nearly Empty Trans-Atlantic Flight

London Telegraph ^ | 3/5/2008 | David Millward

[Entrepreneur]

A major airline is under fire from environmentalists for flying an aircraft across the Atlantic with only five passengers on board.

American Airlines has been accused of reckless behaviour It led to American Airlines being accused of reckless behaviour by green lobby groups.

The latest “eco- scandal” flight took place on February 9 after American was forced to cancel one of its four daily services from Chicago to London.

While it was able to find places for nearly all the passengers on the fully-booked flight, five still had to be accommodated. Those who did fly were upgraded to the business class cabin.

But while they enjoyed lavish hospitality, the airline was accused of an “obscene waste of fuel” by Friends of the Earth.

“With such a small passenger load we did consider whether we could cancel the flight and re-accommodate the five remaining passengers on other flights.

“However, this would have left a plane load of west-bound passengers stranded in London Heathrow who were due to fly back to the US on the same aircraft.

Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner said: “Flying virtually empty planes is an obscene waste of fuel. Through no fault of their own , each passenger’s carbon footprint for this flight is about 45 times what it would have been if the plane had been full.

“Governments must stop granting the aviation industry the unfair privileges that allow this to happen by taxing aviation fuel and including emissions from aviation in international agreements to tackle climate change.”

[Entrepreneur]

“Governments must stop granting the aviation industry the unfair privileges that allow this to happen by taxing aviation fuel and including emissions from aviation in international agreements to tackle climate change.”

The socialist reveals his true colors.

Think the enviros will go after Travolta...

Actor John Travolta's Florida Home

Of course, Travolta probably buys carbon credits from the greenies.

[Red Badger]

And just how many are on AlGore’s planes?.................

[printhead]

No mention of private jets with one or two passengers flying to global climate conferences at some remote island villa.

[Nailbiter]

Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner said: “Flying virtually empty planes is an obscene waste of fuel. Through no fault of their own , each passenger’s carbon footprint for this flight is about 45 times what it would have been if the plane had been full.

Mr Dyer, mind your own business. You mind your carbon foot print and let the rest of us mind ours.

[chaos_5]

If AA wants to fly a plane with little more than the crew, it’s their business. I sincerely hope there greenies are not taken too seriously.

[goldstategop]

An airline is in business to make money. Quelle Horreur!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[ottbmare]

This happened to me once. It was the most wonderful thing.

[denydenydeny]

Transatlantic flights with empty seats are a gift from God. The only time I’ve ever been able to sleep on a plane is when I’m able to lay across three seats. Glorious.

I also note that these people never said a peep whenever “activists” are flown halfway across the world to friggin’ Bali for one of their ridiculous conferences.

[Doohickey]

I seem to recall that British Airways does the same thing. They have to in order to keep their gates at key airports.

[wilco200]

How many passengenrs are on a FedEx flight? The pilots. That’s it.

It’s also amzing how stupid these people are in that they don’t even understand the way air travel works. Just because nobody is getting on a plane in Chicago, doesn’t mean 200 peoople aren’t waiting to get on that flight in London.

Sheesh. Haven’t these people ever been to an airport.

[Kirkwood]

How do these idiots think planes get delivered overseas? By ship? I’d like to apply my carbon footprint to their a$$.

[Toskrin]

Meanwhile 200 passengers in Heathrow are standing at the gate wondering “Where’s our plane?”

[Atlas Sneezed]

No mention of private jets with one or two passengers flying to global climate conferences at some remote island villa.

---

How about those empty private jets sent to fetch whatever star or their vittles?

[Alouette]

I wish I could have been on that plane!

The last 3 transatlantic flights I was on were completely stuffed.

You can take my boarding pass from my cold dead fingers, green freaks!

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

If they only knew...

Almost every airliner, new or used, is flown without passengers when it's delivered to its buyer. The same is true of small, corporate jets. Thousands of jets fly empty all over the world, ALL THE TIME.

[1rudeboy]

Oh, man. Talk about a dream transatlantic flight. I wouldn’t have stopped drinking for a moment.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Planes are not idled. The plane with only 5 passengers had another route to service upon landing. They don’t send them home empty to run again. What should AA have done to the rest of its schedule because the one flight went off light?

[Reeses]

Apparently more people are leaving from the socialist utopia of Europe for America than are going the other way. If you average the load for both directions the carbon foot print is reasonable. A normally loaded airliner going at 500mph gets much better gas mileage and lower CO2 emissions per passenger than a Toyota Prius on meandering roads at 50mph.

[Paleo Conservative]

I bet the cargo holds were full. Airlines make a lot of money from cargo.

[Wildbill22]

What everyone seems to be forgetting is that 5 people aren’t the only thing paying for that empty flight. Other things, like time critical cargo, mail, transplant organs and on and on actually can pay for the flight’s costs before one passenger gets on. For pete’s sake, let the airline run it’s own business. If it isn’t efficient, it won’t be economical. If the flight isn’t economical, the airline will go under but long before then the flight will be canceled by management who spend all their time being efficient to compete with other “lower cost” airlines who pay their people less in foreign countries, and who fly the same routes. You can’t drill for oil in this country to fuel that flight with cheaper fuel. Now you greenies want to aid foreign carriers to put our domestic owned airlines out of business. Doesn’t surprise me one bit.