Green Fares give passengers the option to pay extra to offset individual flight-related CO2 emissions and purchase credits for sustainable aviation fuel. 

They will be offered on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti from 4 December. Green Fares will be available in all classes on more than 850,000 flights a year. 

Lufthansa Group has been offering Green Fares for short and medium-haul routes since February 2023. The group accounts for 122.5 million passengers, with currently 4% opting to pay the green levy. 

Despite the small take-up, Lufthansa said the scheme had led to an offset of almost 190,000 tonnes of CO2.

“This amount corresponds to the CO2 emissions of more than 1,300 flights from Munich to New York with an Airbus A350,” it said.

Dieter Vranckx, Lufthansa Group chief commercial officer, added: “Extending Green Fares to the Lufthansa Group’s global long-haul network is an enormously important and consistent step – not only for us, but for the entire aviation industry.”

For Green Fare flights within Europe and to North Africa, a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions is achieved through SAF, while the remaining 80% is offset through climate protection projects. On intercontinental routes, 10% of CO2 emissions are reduced through SAF and the remaining 90% through contributions to climate projects. 

Lufthansa Group ensures the amount of SAF required to offset individual CO2 emissions is fed into flight operations within six months of purchase. 

Lufthansa Group’s budget carrier Eurowings is not part of Green Fares, as it has its own PlanetBlu scheme.