Forget The Red, Be Green This Holiday Season

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

While saving money is definitely on the minds of most of us for travel this holiday season, being environmentally-conscious is an issue too. Often times, its more expensive to take the eco-route over the budget one. But there are a few ways that you can be extra green and merry this December, and they won’t necessarily cost you more.

1. Skip Economy-Plus: Sometimes it’s nice to upgrade, but most of the time this is a joke and the only real differences from coach-seating are seen in first-class. Is it really worth paying an extra $20-30 for four to five more inches of legroom? Also, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), an environmental-focused non-profit organization, argues that economy-plus sections actually increase per-passenger emissions as there is less room for more passengers on the plane. According to UCS, eliminating first-class and economy plus seats could cut an airplane’s per-person emissions 10 to 15 percent.

2. Off-Peak Travel: If you can fly during the middle of the week, usually in the morning or early afternoon, you can find a cheaper seat. But you’ll also be filling a seat on a probably emptier flight. This will both make the most out of the fuel and carbon emissions from the plane, but it will also save you the hassle of having to deal with an insane crowd at check-in, security and even lining up for the restroom during the flight. Everybody wins.

3. Consider Public Transport: Traveling begins from you walking out the door with bags in hand. Driving by yourself to the airport isn’t exactly greenest way to get there. (I will concede that if you live in a remote area, this might be unavoidable.) But for those of you who live in metropolitan areas, try your best to take the subway, city bus or even a charter bus (some cities run these from major train stations in the center of town to the airport for about $10-15 per person each way) to minimize your costs and pollution.

4. Buy Offsets: Sometimes the only way to help out is by reaching into your pocket and handing out some cash. I wouldn’t call anyone who doesn’t want to do this a Scrooge (we’re all in a bind right now), but if its something that’s important to you, airlines usually give you the option of buying a personal carbon offset for $20-30, maybe more depending on the distance or carrier. Also, airlines themselves have to really focus on this now, as the International Air Transport Association is pledging for airlines to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050. Seems like a very long time from now, but time flies.

Do you have any tips about saving money and the planet simultaneously when traveling long-distance?