Half of those flying in business and first “don’t care what their carbon footprint is” according to a new poll from YouGov Profiles. When asked if they agreed with the statement that they “don’t care what (their) carbon footprint is,” 51 per cent agreed and just 18 per cent disagreed.
The poll took place after the CEO of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, said that “wealthy people…and wealthy nations should be funding the energy transition in aviation to help support developing countries.”
Speaking at Davos this week, Holland-Kaye said that the cost of travel would have to rise in the short-term to pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), but as production scaled up, prices would come down.
SAF is between two and six times more expensive than traditional jet fuel, and is increasingly being offered by airlines at an additional cost to flyers. Air France has recently added a compulsory surcharge to its tickets to pay for SAF.
Air France increases ticket prices to pay for sustainable aviation fuel
The YouGov research found that while most (72 per cent) of consumers who have booked first or business class in the past 12 months “don’t mind paying more for products that are good for the environment,” 65 per cent though ‘it costs too much to be green all the time.”
To read more about SAF, see Refuelling sustainability
The February 2023 edition of Business Traveller has a feature on the new options for buying SAF. Subscribe
