ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Future Transp.
Sec. Advancements in Sustainable Transport
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ffutr.2025.1618095
Airline Carbon Emission Efficiency Study: Static and Dynamic Perspectives
Provisionally accepted
- 1Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, China
- 2Chengdu Low altitude Economy High quality Development Research Center, Chengdu, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, Guanghan, China
- 3Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Chengdu, China
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Amid the rapid growth of the aviation sector, carbon reduction presents a significant challenge for airlines. This study analyzed the static and dynamic carbon emission efficiencies of 18 global airlines from 2015 to 2021 using a two-stage superefficient slack-based measure model (SBM) and a superefficient SBM-Malmquist index, incorporating absolute beta convergence tests. Key findings include the following: (1)The overall mean static efficiency of the airlines ranged from 0.225 (American Airlines) to 0.662 (Singapore Airlines), with an industry-wide average of 0.44. (2) Dynamic efficiency also varied: the overall mean SBM-Malmquist index was 0.962, but it dropped sharply to 0.526 in 2019–2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 2020, several airlines demonstrated significant recovery, with Emirates and Singapore Airlines achieving dynamic efficiency indices above 1.5. (3) In 16 out of 18 airlines, operational efficiency exceeded production efficiency, highlighting the importance of technological improvements in production. (4) Limited technological progress was identified as the main factor behind efficiency declines, while absolute β-convergence indicated that inefficient airlines are gradually catching up with efficient peers. These findings provide insights for airlines and policymakers in designing targeted carbon reduction strategies and promoting sustainable aviation development.
Keywords: Airlines, Carbon emission efficiency, static, dynamic, two-stage superefficient SBM model, superefficiency SBM-Malmquist indices
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 19 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 zhou, ZHOU, ZHANG and LI. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peiwen ZHANG, zhangpeiwen@cafuc.edu.cn
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