This Tuesday, Lufthansa, Europe’s leading airline group, announced an increase in the price of all its European flights. This decision comes in order to cover part of the costs linked to the environmental requirements of the European Commission.
In a press release, Lufthansa announced that this supplement will be applied to flights scheduled from January 1, 2025 and will concern all those departing from one of the 27 countries of the European Union, but also from Norway, the United Kingdom and from Switzerland.
The amount of this additional cost will vary “depending on the route and flight fare”, which can range from 1 to 72 euros.
To replace kerosene
Lufthansa justifies itself by putting forward the following argument: “The airline group will not be able to bear the increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements alone in the years to come.”
The company is referring to mandatory quotas imposed by the EU which aim to incorporate more sustainable fuels – sustainable aviation fuel, SAF – into aircraft tanks. Ultimately, the goal is to replace kerosene.
But this will happen gradually. Several deadlines are therefore planned. In 2025, the share of SAF must reach 2%, then 6% in 2030, 20% in 2035, and finally 70% in 2050.
The problem is that SAF production is still minimal: in 2023 it corresponded to 0.5% of global demand for aviation fuel. This very low availability maintains prices that are far too high: three to five times higher than fossil kerosene, according to Lufthansa.
Thus, the company has warned that as long as these prices do not decrease, it could continue to pass on the additional cost in the price of tickets. “The more SAF production increases, the more their price will fall,” explained a spokesperson for the group to AFP.
Du greenwashing ?
To make up for this delay in SAF production in Europe, the main European airlines including Lufthansa called in March on the EU to take inspiration from the United States where production benefits from incentives.
With a problem: the environmental supplement is added to another surplus. It is optional and you may have already seen it when booking tickets, since it is offered directly to travelers by Lufthansa and other airlines. Its goal is to make travelers pay extra to offset carbon emissions through climate protection projects.
But this process is not always very well received. It was even the subject of a complaint from consumer associations last year to the European Commission. They accused around twenty airlines of “greenwashing” and “deceptive commercial practices”.
