Private jet firm launches offset scheme

The private jet set care about the environment too.

That is certainly the view of US-based private jet charter company Jets.com, which has become the first private jet operator to offer customers the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions.

Passengers on conventional flights have become increasingly accustomed to airlines offering them the opportunity to pay to offset their emissions, but offsetting flights taken by private jets has been made trickier by many offsetting firms' tendency to calculate emissions based on commercial aircraft and only offer offsets for standard commercial routes.

Jets.com said it had teamed up with US-based offsetting group Carbonfund.org to determine CO2 emissions for different private jet types and would now offer customers the opportunity to pay to offset their emissions through Carbonfund's reforestation projects.

The move is likely to be greeted with considerable scepticism by some environmentalists who maintain that private jets represent one of the most environmentally irresponsible forms of travel available.

But with demand for private jets booming and private flights an increasingly common form of travel for top corporate executives, Carbonfund and Jets.com are unapologetic about the new service.

"We are committed to providing a real and immediate solution to an issue of concern, not only to Jets.com and its clients, but also to private air travellers all over the world," said Nate McKelvey, chief executive of Jets.com. "Working with Carbonfund.org, we are now able to provide our clients with the means to lessen the ecological impact of their travel."