Rankings / AirTran Airways
Last reported 2011AirTran Airways
In 2011, its last year in the data, AirTran Airways flew 52.4 passenger-miles per gallon of jet fuel. That's 2% better than the all-airline figure that year. Since 2000 its figure has risen 77%.
About AirTran Airways
AirTran was an Orlando-based airline built around a hub at Atlanta. Southwest bought it in 2011, and from 2012 its fuel was reported under Southwest, so later years sit on Southwest's page.
- 52.4passenger-miles per gallon, 2011
- 0.186 kgCO2 per passenger-mile
- 81%of seats filled
- 123seats per flight on average
The story in the figures
AirTran Airways' passenger-miles per gallon rose 77% between 2000 and 2011, from 29.5 to 52.4. Most of that came from the aircraft: seat-miles per gallon rose 54%, while planes ran fuller, with 70% of seat-miles filled in 2000 against 81% in 2011.
The shape of the flying changed as well: the average flight went from 109 seats to 123, and the average passenger flew 534 miles per segment in 2000 and 803 in 2011. In general, larger aircraft spread fuel over more passengers, and longer flights spend a smaller share of their fuel on takeoff and climb.
Its best year was 2010, at 53.4 passenger-miles per gallon.
Against the all-airline figure for 2011 (51.5), AirTran Airways was 1.7% better. On a 1,000 mile trip that works out to 186 kg of CO2 for one passenger, from burning jet fuel only.
What one seat costs the climate
CO2 for one passenger on AirTran Airways, from burning jet fuel only.
- 93 kgover 500 miles
- 186 kgover 1,000 miles
- 372 kgover 2,000 miles
AirTran merged with Southwest. From 2012 its fuel was reported by Southwest, and those years are counted under Southwest Airlines.
Year-by-year figures
| Year | Passenger-miles per gallon | kg CO2 per passenger-mile | Seat-miles per gallon | Load factor | Passengers (millions) | Fuel (million gallons) | CO2 (thousand tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 52.4 | 0.186 | 64.6 | 81.1% | 24.7 | 379 | 3,697 |
| 2010 | 53.4 | 0.182 | 65.7 | 81.3% | 24.7 | 362 | 3,527 |
| 2009 | 51.0 | 0.191 | 64.2 | 79.5% | 24.1 | 362 | 3,533 |
| 2008 | 51.1 | 0.191 | 64.7 | 78.9% | 24.8 | 367 | 3,578 |
| 2007 | 47.9 | 0.203 | 63.1 | 76.0% | 24.1 | 360 | 3,506 |
| 2006 | 44.4 | 0.220 | 61.1 | 72.7% | 20.4 | 311 | 3,030 |
| 2005 | 44.2 | 0.221 | 60.2 | 73.4% | 16.8 | 256 | 2,492 |
| 2004 | 41.2 | 0.237 | 58.3 | 70.7% | 13.3 | 206 | 2,007 |
| 2003 | 39.3 | 0.248 | 55.5 | 70.9% | 11.8 | 182 | 1,774 |
| 2002 | 32.7 | 0.298 | 48.5 | 67.4% | 9.8 | 171 | 1,664 |
| 2001 | 30.5 | 0.319 | 43.8 | 69.7% | 8.4 | 148 | 1,440 |
| 2000 | 29.5 | 0.330 | 42.0 | 70.4% | 7.7 | 139 | 1,357 |
Where the leaders stand
Nearby airline results
These airlines sit nearby by passenger-miles per gallon in their last data year. Historical airlines have different end years, shown here, so this isn't a same-year ranking.
Airline references
Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Schedule P-12(a) fuel, T-100 traffic and regional Schedule T-2 filings; US EPA jet-fuel CO2 factor. See the methodology.