Carbon offset programs and carbon taxes have not been introduced to China’s aviation sector, but may be implemented in the coming decade. This research surveys Chinese university students to understand the factors associated with their willingness to participate in and pay for voluntary carbon offsets and compulsory taxes for domestic and international travel. Our survey subjects represent the future frequent flyers and a generation likely to be impacted the most by global warming. We find that their willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon emissions reduction is positively related to income, levels of environmental concern and trust in the carbon offsetting/reduction projects. Females tend to have a higher WTP than males. The intention to contribute during the Covid-19 pandemic was lower. The mean WTP for the voluntary offsetting regime for domestic travel is approximately 36.33 yuan, whereas the mean WTP for domestic travel under the compulsory regime is about 28.65 yuan. For international travel, these two figures are 45.37 yuan and 71.70 yuan, respectively.