Application of a climate impact evaluation methodology to compare turboprop and jet aircraft

Abstract

In order to design aircraft for minimum impact on climate, appropriate evaluation tools must be integrated early in the aircraft design loop and account for both CO2 and non‑CO2 effects. This paper evaluates the impact of CO2, NOx emissions, and contrail formation from turboprops (D328 and D328eco) compared to jets (A320, ERJ135) using such simplified evaluation tools, namely the climate response models AirClim and LEEA. Operational parameters such as distance and altitude are varied, and we propose two one-dimensional correction methods to adjust the climate impact of contrails for aircraft size. Compared to turboprops, jets have higher fuel burn and fly on average at higher altitudes, where the impact from contrails is higher. Based on our assumptions, we show that turboprop aircraft have the capability to compete with larger aircraft and outperform regional jets in terms of climate impact per passenger-kilometre.