Here is a good list of 'fuel per seat (in mpg)' numbers for various airplane configurations and flight durations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#Examp...

The total average across the industry in 2018 was between 67 and 81 mpg. Modern planes are in the 100-120mpg range.

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elil17 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The issue is that we are enabling people to travel long distances too cheaply.

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bluebarbet an hour ago | parent | next [-]

And above all too quickly. Per kilometer, flying is roughly as polluting as driving, but nobody would think to drive across a continent to go the beach.

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dudefeliciano 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What about short distances? Why is it cheaper to fly Berlin-Stuttgart than to take a train? it makes absoutely no sense.

	▲	londons_explore 27 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Trains are expensive because the track is 99.9% empty. If you could fill a train track as much as a road is filled, it would be very cheap

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9cb14c1ec0 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes, let's make things more expensive, cause we experts know best. That poor guy that needs to attend a family funeral, he's a loser that should stay home. Inflation for the Win!

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dudefeliciano 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

and according to the article the last record was 200k planes per day on june 29 2025, while july 23rd had more than 280k - so while efficiency may be going up (how many of those 280k planes are in the modern 100-120mpg range?) total flights are as well. Result: total emissions are steadily increasing.