Short Flight on a Small Plane

Small Airport

There was a 10-pound limit for each passenger’s bag. Of course with all my gear and techy gadgets I knew mine would be way over.  I never understand this re-distribution of weight thing. All I had to do is hand my camera over to a fellow passenger whose bag was slightly underweight and we were good to go. Even when I got back on the scale (yes, we had to weigh ourselves as well…awkward!) it was still overweight (the bag, not me), but the Nature Air guy, just waved me through.

Then for the first time in my life, I had misplaced my boarding pass. No big deal, they checked my name off a list and gestured for me to head out the door.   Love the small airport mentality!

Tiny Plane

We climb aboard the tiny plane with a helping hand from the Nature Air gate agent on the Tarmac.

Nature Air is Costa Rica’s main domestic airline. And it’s the first certified carbon neutral Airline in the world. Since 2004, they have helped to protect and conserve over 500 acres of tropical forests in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

As their website says:

Since day one, NatureAir has offset 100% of our flight emissions thru our own contributions. This means that simply by choosing NatureAir, you choose to conserve and protect our tropical forests here in Costa Rica. This is our committement to our passengers and the communities we serve.

Impressive and innovative and seems like a model all airlines should follow.  Of course Nature Air has a much smaller fleet and shorter routes than most airlines, but, still laudable.  Plus taking the tiny propeller plane from San Jose down to the Osa Peninsula was like a ride in an amusement park – in a good way, I mean.

Disclosure: During my time in Costa Rica, I was a guest of  Travel with Ann, as always, all writing and opinions are my own.