The Emission level from a Jet Turbo Fan equipment is similar to the amount of emissions from a relatively large N. American Vehicle. I looked into the amount of emissions per mile from Toronto to San Francisco, and was astounded that the fuel consumption was approx 10 Litres per 100 km per Passenger. (I took the trip with a Jetta instead),
The only difference was the
time factor of traveling across the USA in 1 day(4.5 hrs fligh time), vs 4 days by car (with Sleepovers).
The actual emissions per passenger per mile would be similar to those of the larger vehicle, because of the fuel consumption.
Airline = 200~300 people per plane load. Typical Airspeed is 800 Km/hr. Google Maps show distance by air 3636 km, by car 4222 km.
Google search gave me this document for military aspects of jet aircraft
http://www.mareainformativa.com/demand-in-u-s-for-diesel-powered-cars-plummets/795/ and the emissions per Kg of emission per weight of jet.
The chart that is embedded shows a value of most fuel efficiency at the 2-3 km elevation of air, and this is comparable to the typical flight altitude of large aircraft at cruising altitudes.
Less fuel burnt equals less emissions.
I agree that it is significant, based on the number of miles traveled, but I respectfully disagree that it is 'tons' more.
