I haven’t yet had the pleasure of flying on NatureAir, but after bumping over one too many lousy roads in Costa Rica, I believe I’ll be making use of their services quite a bit next time I visit.

NatureAir launched in 2000 and has grown to the point of flying 150,000 passengers annually. It has gone from one plane and 17 employees to eight planes and more than 150 employees. In essence, it’s a short-hop airline with 74 daily flights that will get you around Costa Rica or over the border to Panama. Planes can also be chartered for small groups or families. Fares are reasonable, they have a good reputation for avoiding delays (not easy during rainy season), and their safety record is excellent.

What really makes them unique though is the stance of being the world’s first carbon neutral airline. The company says, “NatureAir offsets more than 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually and uses carbon credits to help conserve Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, one of the region’s most biologically diverse rainforests.” I’ve said before that Costa Rica’s government and businesses do a better job than anyone in this hemisphere of doing and not just talking when it comes to preserving the environment. It’s nice to see the main domestic airline sticking to that commitment.

For more info see www.natureair.com or call 800-235-9272.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Costa Rica, Latin American Airlines, Travel industry, environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.