Business & GA

NetJets Europe is to make carbon offsetting compulsory for its customers from next month in a bid to become fully carbon-neutral by 2012. NetJets operates an expanding fleet of around 120 business jets for around 1,500 fractional ownership and charter customers.

New and existing clients whose contracts are up for renewal will be required to purchase credits that cancel out the carbon they burn when they take flights. Existing customers will be asked to voluntarily sign up for the programme. The offset charges will equate to around $5,400 a year for the average customer and the money raised from the programme will fund research at Princeton University into the development of an ultra-low-emission jet fuel that could be burned in current turbofans. "As part of our environmental initiative we will invest heavily in new generations of fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Hawker Beechcraft Hawker 4000 and the Dassault Falcon 7X. We will spend $3.5 million to add winglets to its entire Falcon 2000EX fleet which will reduce the fuel consumption of these aircraft by up to 5%. For its business operations NetJets Europe is committing to a 10% reduction in emissions across all of its offices in the next 2 years," says the company. Meanwhile, NetJets US-based sister company NetJets Aviation has launched a similar climate initiative, but its programme is voluntary.