As unlikely as it may sound, Ryanair and other low budget carriers could be offering more sustainable travel than other full service airlines. Although this may come as a shock to some people, experts are saying that this is not surprising at all.

These reports went on to say that low budget carriers produce up to 35 percent less carbon emissions per passenger than their full service counterparts. Experts say that this is due to many features, but most notably higher load factors and seat density.

This research, which was done by flight comparison website Liligo.co.uk, claims that a couple that is flying from London to Venice and returning a week later would have a carbon footprint of 410kg with Ryanair, compared to the 977kg with Alitalia. A flight from London to Zurich with easyJet has a carbon footprint of 277kg per couple, compared to 688kg with Aer Lingus. Thus, it is easy to see a trend starting to develop.

This low cost concept also leads to higher average load factors. Back in 2009, the average for any easyJet flight was 86 percent, and for Ryanair it was 82 percent. Comparing this to the 68 percent made by Europe’s full service airlines, and it’s easy to see who has the best load factors.

A spokesman for easyJet said that their policy has always been to expand their fleet through the acquisition of the latest technology aircrafts. The average age of any of their aircrafts is 3.5 years. They use these aircraft as efficiently as possible, and the company tries to maximize load factor and seating density.