Work out co2 emissions from flight instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Aviation emissions per passenger kilometre depend on flight length and cabin class. Short flights carry a take-off penalty at about 0.25 kg per passenger km, while long haul falls to 0.145. A 1500 km economy flight is about 225 kg of CO2, or 428 kg once the roughly 1.9x radiative forcing uplift for contrails and high-altitude effects is applied.
Flight emissions
CO2 = distance x factor x class multiplier x passengers
Radiative forcing
multiply by about 1.9 for total climate impact
Because they occupy far more floor area, so each passenger carries a larger share of the aircraft's fuel burn - roughly three times economy.
An uplift accounting for contrails, nitrogen oxides and water vapour released at altitude, commonly taken as 1.7-2.0 times the CO2 alone.