The consulting firm Roland Berger expects restrained demand for air travel worldwide this year. Compared to the pre-Corona year 2019, the number of expected business trips is 28 percent lower, the company reported on Tuesday on the results of a survey with 7,000 participants in the main global markets. A decline of 19 percent is expected for planned private trips.

According to their own statements, people are increasingly using online communication instead of flying. In the case of business trips, changed travel guidelines, new legal regulations and, with an increasing trend, ecological concerns were also given as reasons for not traveling.

More train and car travel

A majority of respondents plan to cut back on air travel in favor of train or car travel. In addition, 90 percent are willing to pay a fifth more for flight tickets if the climate impact could be reduced, explained Roland Berger partner Jan-Philipp Hasenberg. It is therefore an important issue for many suppliers to expand their range to include "green" products with higher prices.

The high level of approval for compensation payments has not yet been reflected in actual booking behavior. In test runs with such tariffs in Scandinavia, Lufthansa was able to convince two percent of the passengers. The target of the "Green Fares" offered group-wide since last week is five percent. According to the company, 20 percent of CO2 emissions are avoided by using sustainably produced aviation fuel (SAF). The remaining 80 percent of the additional price goes into certified climate protection projects.

The offsetting of CO2 emissions has been criticized to the extent that it could tempt people to buy a clear conscience with little effort instead of acting in a more climate-friendly manner. In the case of unavoidable emissions, however, the Federal Environment Agency, for example, also recognizes the advantages of compensation. Properly implemented, they could be part of ambitious climate protection.