About

We are a regional airline with our base in Costa Rica and flights to 17 destinations within Costa Rica including Panama and Nicaragua. The airline has been operating for over 15 years within Costa Rica, however it was not until 2001 that Travel Air became NatureAir.

NatureAir was founded on the principle that an airline can be fun, reliable and make a positive impact on the destinations it serves. NatureAir is the only regional airline in Central America to achieve a 90% on time performance for the last 3 years in a row. Our reliability has made us the airline of choice for some the best and well known tour operators in the world.

Roughly 60% of the destinations we fly to have a national park or private reserve located within 10 km of the runway, NatureAir’s passengers are either local community members or tourists coming to experience the culture and environment. Therefore, we are the link between not only ecosystems but of culture, values and experiences and knowledge.

We follow a policy of sustainable business practices in opening new routes, we do not only account for revenues and costs when choosing new destinations but measure the potential impacts (positive and negative) we may have. This includes social and environmental impacts.

Since 2004, NatureAir has been the first airline in the world to completely compensate all of its carbon emissions. We do this through the protection of primary forests located in biological corridors in southern Costa Rica. NatureAir is currently protecting over 150 hectares of tropical forests through the purchase of carbon credits from our local Environmental Services Payment Program, a program developed and managed by Costa Rica’s Environmental and Forestry Departments.

Our goal is that we become the catalyst for change, that we prove that green business is good business and that tourism companies have a responsibility to protect the destinations they promote.

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Strategy

NatureAir supports local initiatives and organizations to develop and conduct sustainable tourism events and meetings. As a company, we have formed a Responsible Tourism Committee which oversees our efforts as a company in recycling all wastes, using alternative sources of energy, reducing energy usage, carbon offsets and support of MINAE, our local Environmental Protection Agency.

We have various office initiatives to reduce our impact on the environment and use of energy:

• Recycling all paper, oils, plastics,
• Using local suppliers whenever possible,
• Offering our employees fleet buses to avoid single person driving.
• Encouraging working from home and promoting electronic communication (e.g. email
  rather than fax, on-line banking).

We are proud members of our local Ecotourism Society, the International Ecotourism Society, RainForest Alliance and work with many other organizations to share our experience and learn from others.

Sustainable Tourism Policy in Action Services

• We have made all of our suppliers aware of this policy and will work with them to develop their own sustainable tourism policy.
• We use local employees for all our positions including operations, maintenance and administration. We provide training to each employee and provide English courses as well.
• We will make every reasonable effort to become carbon neutral and even carbon positive through energy conservation, as well as offsets through conservation and reforestation.
• Aerotica – a NatureAir subsidiary fuel company will work with and support local efforts to fuel our own fleet of vehicles with biofuel as well as eventually becoming a fuelling station for biofuel usage.
• NatureKids Foundation – through our NatureKids Foundation, www.naturekids.org, we teach local community members English as a way to ensure self-empowerment and better opportunities of employment as tourism is the major job provider in these destinations. We have taught over 500 students since 2003.

Environmental Guidelines

• Reduce environmental impacts through our operations.
• Use natural resources and recycled products grown and produced locally when possible.
• Maintain biodiversity.
• Reduce our carbon footprint to zero or preferably carbon positive.

Economic Guidelines

• Assess economic impacts before making decisions.
• Maximize local economic benefits by increasing linkages and reducing leakages.
• Ensure communities are involved in and benefit from our operations.
• Assist with local marketing and product development.
• Promote equitable business and pay fair prices.

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