Charter operator Tradewind Aviation has launched a new carbon offset program that will automatically cover all of its flights throughout North America and the Caribbean. The move expands on the company’s initial offset initiative in 2020 that allowed customers to voluntarily offset carbon emissions from their flights. That contribution was calculated at $7 per flight hour. As of the end of 2021, participants in the program had offset 160.3 tonnes of CO2.

This new system will see Tradewind cover 100 percent of the cost of the carbon offsets with an automated technology that will apply to every one of its legs regardless of destination, duration, or aircraft type, with all proceeds raised through the offset going to TerraPass, a Houston-based concern that invests in greenhouse gas capture projects.

Tradewind's fleet currently consists of 18 Pilatus PC-12s and three Cessna Citation CJ3s. The company offers on-demand charter, as well as seasonal scheduled service, to leisure destinations in the Northeast U.S. such as Martha's Vineyard; Nantucket; Newport, Rhode Island; Stowe, Vermont; and in the Caribbean to San Juan, St. Barth, Anguilla, Antigua, and St. Thomas.

“Climate change is among the pressing issues of our day, and we’ve made the decision for Tradewind Aviation to be on the right side of it, funding sustainability through carbon offsets on every flight at no cost to our clients,” said co-founder and CEO Eric Zipkin. “Indeed, our new carbon offset program is structured in a way that passengers needn’t even think about it to make a contribution to combatting climate change, though, of course, we hope they do.”