Heathrow’s sustainability lead has warned there is likely to be an impact on demand because of holiday costs rising due to suppliers adopting the latest carbon-cutting technologies.
Matthew Gorman MBE, the airport’s carbon strategy director, cited research at Travel Weekly’s Sustainability Summit that suggests airfares could be 10-20% higher than they currently are by 2050.
He told delegates this is likely to result in a softening of the market as the sector strives to achieve net zero status.
“Airlines and passengers need to cover the carbon costs of their activities,” said Gorman. “The Energy Transition Research Initiative suggests that by the time we get to 2050 we might be looking at tickets being 10-20% more, because things like SAF or hydrogen technology might cost more to introduce.
“That will have some impact on demand, yes.”
However, Gorman is hopeful the majority of travellers will be willing to pay more to continue travelling, adding the increased fees will be used to fund vital technological advances.
“All our evidence suggests people really value what international travel brings, so they will be prepared to pay a bit more to carry on travelling,” he added.
“And while we expect some impact on demand, that added cost will help invest in the technologies we need to deploy.
“We won’t thrive or grow as a sector unless we are demonstrably on track to achieve net zero status by 2050, and our view is that we can absolutely do that.”
Jane Ashton, sustainability director at easyJet, said the airline also subscribes to the ‘polluter pays’ principle – the notion that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to the environment.
She told delegates that rising operating costs, such as higher fuel prices, present a “business case” for the need for airline bosses to adopt the latest carbon-cutting methods.
“The cost of emitting carbons will go up moving forward which helps makes the business case for investment in the new technologies required to decarbonise,” she said.
However, she does not think consumers will be willing to pay extra to cover the costs of airlines and operators’ sustainability initiatives.
“In terms of relying on a shift in consumer behaviour, I’m very wary about that,” she added. “For decades I’ve seen people say they’ll pay a certain amount extra [for a more sustainable holiday] but in reality they don’t.
“My preference is to focus on decarbonising, be transparent about it, hold ourselves to account and work on a business transformation programme, rather than rely on people paying more for more sustainable holidays.”