I took the decision to fly the strict minimum some 10 years ago. Since then, I’ve moved around by train within France and Europe. And I did do one transatlantic flight a couple years ago.
I work as independent consultant, and so can choose projects that don’t entail flying. I can see how an employee in an organisation might have more trouble refusing to fly, but I’m convinced there are many flights which can be avoided, benefiting not only the climate but also giving people and organisations more time and money to spend on something else.
For leisure, my family chooses to travel: in our regions if we have a weekend; in our country if we have one week; in our continent if we have one month; and once every five years we take a sabbatical to discover somewhere far away. Only in those occasions – but not always – we do take a flight.
I’m a sustainability consultant. Among other things, I help organisations reduce their carbon footprint. Flying is typically one of the biggest contributors to that footprint.