Environmental Impact Yields to Luxury TravelOne of the most luxurious airlines in the world, Emirates, is taking luxury and service to an even higher level. Beginning this October, Emirates will offer onboard shower facilities to first class passengers. The showers will be available on their Airbus A380 aircraft, operating a New York to Dubai route.
But talk about working against eco-friendly travel solutions. The London Times estimates aircraft will need to haul around an extra ton of water per flight, and the extra fuel to move it.
This results in a “carbon cost” of 48,455 pounds for every round trip flight.
It's fantastic technology has evolved to a point which permits people to bath themselves at 40,000 feet...and I suppose passengers paying $15,000+ for a first class flight have a right to it. And of course it would be great to try it and say, "wow!" But hopefully this doesn't become a standard for the que of other Airbus 380 aircraft on wait lists and assembly lines. There are other methods of "wowing" first class passengers that result in less harm on the environment.