Since I founded Ski Flight Free in 2019, I have cut down on my flights considerably in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint. Flight Free in 2024 and 2025 For the last two years, I have gone slightly further committed to the ‘Flight Free Challenge’ – created by Anna...
In June 2025, Eurostar confirmed that they would be running the ‘Eurostar Snow Train’ again for the forthcoming 2025/26 winter season. This is great news, plus there are some key changes to this year’s service that will make the journey more attractive for many travellers. What dates will the Eurostar...
In 2022, I looked at the carbon footprint of a ski holiday, based on some research by French ski resorts. The original research attempted to detail the carbon cost of a day’s skiing, and the differences your choices can make to the final figure. I’ve now updated these figures, to...
The options for train travel to the Alps this winter are outlined here: THE EUROSTAR SKI TRAIN (via Lille) Eurostar have confirmed that their snow train, reintroduced last winter will continue for 2025/26 with more departures, plus an option to return on the following Saturday (six days’ skiing), as well...
As well as founding Ski Flight Free, Iain also presents The Ski Podcast. In September 2023, Iain discussed new train travel options with Krissie Roe from Inghams: In September 2020, Iain was joined by Daniel Elkan from Snowcarbon and Anna Hughes from Flight Free UK in a Facebook Live event to discuss...
Make sure you pick up a copy of this month’s ‘Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Magazine’ encouraging skiers to #SkiFlightFree. You can find Iain’s opinion piece on the existential threat to ski resorts on page 20: Find out more at www.skiflightfree.org
Climate change represents an existential threat to human life on the planet. The evidence for this has been widely published, but you don’t have to take my word for it. This is what Britain’s most trusted man has to say on the subject: An existential threat to the ski industry...
Launched in April 2021, ski boot manufacturer Tecnica have confirmed that their ‘Recycle Your Boots’ project will be operational in eight European countries this winter. Goal to recycle 7000 ski boots this winter France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Norway and Sweden will all operate the scheme, with the goal being to collect 7000 ski...
The most obvious routes to the Alps are via Paris, but did you know that you can travel to ski resorts via Lille? There are direct TGV trains from Lille Europe on the Tarentaise line to Moutiers, Aime la Plagne and Bourg St Maurice as well as through the Mont Blanc valley to Cluses, Sallanches...
Like buses, overnight trains to ski resorts come in two at a time. We only recently reported on the Briancon service and now we have news of a Paris to Pyrenees night train. After the successful reopening of an Intercités night train from Paris to Nice in May, the SNCF is launching a night service...
With all the (justified) attention around the new ‘Travelski Express’ service, it’s easy to forget that there are still French ski resorts that are served by a ‘proper’ overnight train that offers couchettes, rather than just seats. Long-time train travellers will recall the days when there was a wide choice of overnight sleeper trains from...
We are great fans of the work done by Charlie Cotton at eCollective Travel in helping companies audit and cut their carbon footprint. Charlie recently shared his thoughts to help you cut through the ‘greenwash’ and understand what companies really mean behind their carbon cutting terminology: Carbon Neutral: “I have done a high-level guess of...
UPDATE (07 Oct 2021): Google is also now including the carbon emissions from flights in search results ================= How do you skip through the greenwash when making your travel choices? Possibly it will be easier now Google has confirmed that hotels that have met certain sustainability standards, with accreditation from organisations such as Green Key...
On Tuesday of last week (14 September 2021) British Airways flight BA1476 became the airline’s first passenger flight to be powered purely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flight went from London Heathrow to Glasgow and was carbon-neutral, using one of airline’s new ‘sustainability aircraft’. The flight took slightly less than an hour and was designed to demonstrate...
Next month Lumo – a new low cost rail service from London to Scotland – takes to the rails. The company, created by the FirstGroup travel company, plans to offer fares for significantly less than existing rail prices on the same route. One-way fares will be £20 in their initial opening offer, with 60% of...
We were very encouraged to read a new survey by YouGov for Omio shows that 57% of Brits are willing to make more environmentally-friendly travel choices. According to the research this compares with 45% in Germany and 40% in France. 45% of Brits would choose train travel over flying 45% of Brits surveyed said that they...
We’re looking forward to the opening of the new Midnight Trains project – planning to bring back overnight trains across Europe. They’ll be following in the footsteps of another successful new company who have been showing the appetite for train travel on the continent – Italo. Early innovator of high-speed train travel The company was...
The irony is inescapable: climate change has led to the closure of the emissions-free funicular that connects Bourg-St-Maurice to Les Arcs. Powered by 100% renewable energy, the funicular means that it’s possible to travel by train the entire way from the UK to the resort of Les Arcs. ‘Significant deformation’ of the track It’s a...
Chamonix has started a new three-year partnership in which the car maker Kia will provide electric vehicles for the resort. The resort already has a great reputation for sustainability and is a verified ‘Flocon Vert’ resort under the Mountain Riders scheme. Marc HEDRICH, President of Kia France said: “The relationship between Kia and Chamonix is...
