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Concern about carbon footprints is not having an impact on travellers' choice of airline, research conducted for Travel Weekly has suggested.

Of the 2,015 people questioned by research company TNS Travel and Tourism, three-quarters of those who took a flight in the last 12 months selected their airline on the basis of price.

Second most important was the option to fly from a local airport, while reputation and standard of customer service were other decisive factors.

Just 3% of respondents said they selected an airline because it operated a carbon-offsetting scheme.

The study also suggested that one-fifth of travellers would fly less in the coming year because of environmental concerns. A quarter said they would move towards rail travel.

TNS head of travel and tourism Tom Costley said: "For the vast majority of the British population, the environmental impact of flying is not a major issue at present. This may well be a reflection of the fact that the majority fly rarely, so believe their flights will have little overall impact."

ABTA head of consumer affairs Keith Richards said agents must have access to information on carbon footprints. "Customers have an increasing desire for information about the environmental performance of the company they're dealing with, even if they aren't necessarily willing to pay extra. Travel agents and tour operators must engage with this issue."

Jet2holidays general manager Mandy Round added: "While Jet2holidays is a responsible tour operator, we haven't had one question from customers about carbon offsetting."

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