CAPA announces winners of the prestigious CAPA Environmental Sustainability Awards

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Content & Marketing Director, Marco Navarria, said: "The CAPA Aviation Sustainability Awards for Excellence highlight the leaders in sustainability across the air travel sector."

"Using independently sourced data, an in-depth analysis and judging process, these awards are a benchmark that serve to recognise those who make environmental performance a driving part of their strategy."

"The winners of the 2024 awards have demonstrated extensive commitment towards their own environmental sustainability initiatives, as well as supporting the industry's wider goals as it looks to meet long-term commitments to emissions reductions, and ultimately a net zero future."

Aviation Winners

Airline winners across various categories have been selected by CAPA using data that has been independently sourced and analysed, building on the work of the CAPA-Envest Global Environmental Sustainability Benchmarking Report.

Winners in additional categories were selected through a rigorous judging process, led by CAPA's internal analysts.

The category winners have established themselves as leaders among their peers, providing a model of operation that others can aspire to.

• Global Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year
• Pegasus Airlines
• EMEA Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year
• Wizz Air
• Asia Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year
• Scoot
• North American Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year
• Frontier Airlines
• Latin American Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year
• Viva Aerobus

Global Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year

Pegasus Airlines

Few airlines can claim to have transformed their sustainability performance as rapidly or thoroughly as Pegasus Airlines.

The past decade has seen the Turkish airline grown from a small regional airline into one of the most successful LCCs globally - more than doubling passenger traffic and tripling the size of its network.

At the same time the airline has rapidly transformed its fleet, with mostly A320neo and A321neo aircraft in service, and another 52 aircraft scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2029.

Concurrently, Pegasus has become a world leader in terms of unit emissions and broader planning and performance around 'Environment, Sustainability and Governance' initiatives. The airline has set sustainability as one of its key strategic priorities, and, as a result, has integrated sustainability targets into its planning process and in the setting of its discrete goal under an ambitious 'Climate Transition Roadmap'.

This has resulted in the airline setting out discrete and achievable short-term sustainability targets, along with long-term aspirational and transformational goals.

These include: a 20% reduction in per RPK emissions (compared to 2019) by 2030; targets around annual fuel efficiency; steps towards electrification of ground equipment; and increasing renewable energy use.

All of these are being undertaken as part of the wider roadmap that aims to meet the wider industry ambition of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Güliz Öztürk, CEO of Pegasus Airlines said: "We are deeply honoured to receive this special award from CAPA, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication that drives our Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) efforts at every level. Working towards our industry's Net Zero 2050 goal, we are pushing forward with strategic investments in next-generation aircraft, expanding our use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and embracing innovative technologies - each a vital pillar of our Climate Transition Roadmap. I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to every one of my colleagues at Pegasus Airlines who remain unwavering in our commitment to a more sustainable future."

2023 partial rankings and emissions data:

Europe, Middle East and Africa Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year

Wizz Air

The pioneering Hungarian airline Wizz Air has transformed travel through large parts of Europe, and done so as the region's most sustainable airline. Wizz are a UK listed group with airlines in Hungary, Malta, UK and Abu Dhabi.

With unit emissions lower than its European competitors and peers, along with a broader target to reduce its C02 emissions per RPK by 25% by 2030, the airline is consistently one of the world's best airlines when it comes to sustainability performance.

Wizz Air is also expanding its commitment to long-term emissions reductions.

Beyond fleet modernisation - with more than 300 high density A321neo aircraft on order - the airline has also announced an aspirational goal to power 10% of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, and it has entered agreements with multiple SAF suppliers.

Wizz Air believes SAF will be the most important pillar of reducing emissions over the medium term.

József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer at Wizz Air, said: "This CAPA award reflects the dedication of our 8,100-strong team and our commitment to more affordable and sustainable air travel for everyone. Wizz Air confidently leads the charge in reducing average carbon emissions intensity by using the most advanced, and environmentally best performing aircraft. By up gaging our fleet from 180 seater to 239 seater aircraft, we have achieved a remarkable 52 grams of CO2 per passenger-kilometre in financial year 2024. This milestone is driven by one of the youngest fleets globally, averaging 4.43 years, with over 60% of aircraft featuring fuel-efficient neo engines.

Airlines alone cannot make net zero happen: the entire industry, including every player in the ecosystem must do their part, from the fuel providers, through the airports, aircraft manufacturers and others. The key to achieving net zero emissions is industry collaboration and strategic investments into low carbon technologies, supported by governments and policymakers with necessary legislation and meaningful incentives."

2023 partial rankings and emissions data:

Asia Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year

Scoot

Sustainability is a priority for the SIA Group and Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), and they remain committed to achieving their sustainability goals.

As part of Scoot's sustainability goals which are aligned with SIA at the Group level, they remain committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This reinforces its long-standing strategy of working towards decarbonisation and environmental sustainability across its operations. In relation to this, SIA and Scoot have set a target to replace 5% of their total fuel requirements with Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) by 2030. Scoot is also part of the SIA Group's Voluntary Carbon Offset Programme, which offers their customers the option to offset the carbon emissions from their flights by voluntarily purchasing carbon offsets. Scoot chooses to operate a young, modern and fuel-efficient fleet, which is the most direct and effective way for airlines to reduce carbon emissions today. Scoot also participates in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)'s Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) where its reported flight emissions under these schemes undergo external assurance by an accredited verifier.

Scoot will continue to collaborate with aviation ecosystem partners to integrate sustainable initiatives across its operations, while expanding its network and enhancing connectivity.

Mr Leslie Thng, Scoot's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are honoured to have won the CAPA Asia Environmental Sustainability Award for 2024. This underscores Scoot's dedication to embed sustainability initiatives in our operations. As part of the SIA Group, we believe that operating a modern and fuel-efficient fleet and the use of sustainable aviation fuel support this goal. As we navigate the evolving aviation landscape, we will continue to find opportunities for deeper collaborations with like-minded stakeholders in our sustainability journey."

Based on FY2324 SR emissions data:

North American Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year

Frontier Airlines

With Frontier Airlines having a distinctive livery featuring endangered animals on its aircraft, it is not surprising to find that the airline is a leader in environmental performance among North American airlines.

The airline has the youngest fleet in North America, and is modernising its fleet with new A320neo and A321neo aircraft, aiming to further reduce unit emissions.

It is also pursuing efforts around lightening its aircraft, improving its ground procedures, and improving network and flight planning and facilities management, in order to operate in the most sustainable and efficient manner possible.

The ultra-LCC is a part of the Indigo Partners Group, which operates a range of airlines across North America, the Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. As part of this, Frontier has also committed to financially support the US SAF start-up 'CleanJoule', with three Indigo Partners airlines signing a binding agreement to purchase up to 90 million gallons of SAF.

"We are proud to be 'America's Greenest Airline,' and extremely honored to have received this award from CAPA, which acknowledges our outstanding efforts in the sustainability arena," said Barry Biffle, CEO, Frontier Airlines. "Not only do we operate the most fuel-efficient fleet in North America, but our continuous efforts to reduce our environmental footprint through aircraft weight reduction, operational efficiencies and smart network design all contribute toward our sustainability goals. All members of Team Frontier, who work together each and every day to fulfill our ESG mission, can be proud of this award."

Latin America Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year

Viva Aerobus

Viva Aerobus bills itself as Mexico's most efficient airline and it more than lives up to the label. The airline boasts one of the youngest fleets in the entire Americas, rapidly adopting a fleet of high-capacity A320neo and A321neo aircraft to replace its older A320ceo and A321ceo aircraft. Combined with an efficient operating model, the airline achieves some of the world's lowest emissions on both a per passenger and per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) basis.

Viva Aerobus is also active in aviation sustainability initiatives. In late 2022, the carrier entered a forward-looking sustainability-linked financing framework, tied to CO2 emissions per RPK. The airline has also launched a voluntary carbon offset programme and introduced new operating procedures and flight optimisation technology to reduce fuel burn. In addition, Viva Aerobus is cooperating with local and international partners to pursue projects around recycling, electric aviation and contribute to wider environmental and social projects tied to fighting climate change and improving general corporate responsibility.

Juan Carlos, CEO of Viva Aerobus said: "We are very honored and proud to be receiving this award, which motivates us to work harder towards a more sustainable future. We accept it with all the responsibility it conveys to continue leading by example and to keep mobilizing our industry. We acknowledge there's still a long way to go, but we are thrilled to further foster innovation for the benefit of our planet"

2023 partial rankings and emissions data: