Traveling on a Lufthansa plane will soon cost more. The leading European airline group announced this Tuesday to increase the price of all its European flights departing from the 27 countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland, according to a press release. The supplement, the amount of which will vary “depending on the route and the flight price” on a scale between 1 and 72 euros, will apply for all scheduled flights “from January 1, 2025”, it is specified.
The fault of the SAF
The German company explains this decision by the fact that it « will not be able to bear alone the increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the years to come. Lufthansa is referring here to mandatory quotas imposed by the EU aimed at incorporating more sustainable fuels (known by the acronym “SAF” for “sustainable aviation fuel”) into aircraft tanks, in order to gradually replace kerosene.
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Thus, the share of SAF must reach 2% from 2025, 6% in 2030, then 20% from 2035 and finally 70% in 2050. However, the production of SAF is still embryonic: in 2023 it corresponded to 0 .5% of global aviation fuel demand. Due to this low availability, their price is still three to five times higher than fossil kerosene, according to Lufthansa. “The more SAF production increases, the more their price will fall”, explained a spokesperson for the group to AFP. But as long as their price does not decrease, Lufthansa could continue to pass on the additional cost in the price of tickets, he warned.
To make up for the delay in SAF production in Europe, the main European airlines, including Lufthansa, called on the EU in March to take inspiration from the United States where production benefits from incentives.
As a reminder, before Lufthansa, Air France-KLM had already made this decision to pass on part of the additional cost of sustainable aviation fuels in ticket prices. A measure in place since the beginning of 2022.
Air France-KLM increases ticket prices to finance sustainable fuels
A complaint for “greenwashing” still ongoing
This environmental supplement is also added to another surplus, optional this time, offered to travelers. This sum is supposed, on the one hand, to offset the CO2 emissions of a flight, for example by planting trees, and, on the other hand, to contribute to the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). A practice not specific to Lufthansa, but also used by other companies (Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air).
However, this process is the subject of a complaint from consumer associations filed at the end of 2023 with the European Commission. 23 associations from 19 countries accuse these airlines of “greewaching” (eco-laundering) and “deceptive commercial practices”. They accuse them of “imply that air transport can be “sustainable”, “eco-responsible” and “green””they explained. “We are currently in discussions with the European Commission” in this regard, a Lufthansa spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The airline sector transported 4.5 billion passengers in 2019, producing 2.4% of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). It should exceed this level this year since the number of passengers is expected precisely at 4.96 billion, according to forecasts from the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
(With AFP)
