In a rare pushback in the politically correct world of corporate capitulation via lip service to the environmental movement, Lufthansa’s chief is scorning the flight shaming movement.
Speaking at the IATA Wings of Change conference in Berlin, Carsten Spohr, Lufthana’s CEO, came out swinging against the flight shame movement.
Airlines should not have to be seen as a symbol of climate change. That’s just fake news.
Our industry contributes 2.8% of global CO2 emissions. As I’ve asked before, how about the other 97.2%? Are they contributing to global society with as much good as we do? Are they reducing emissions as much as we do?”
Don’t get me wrong. This does not release us from the responsibility to act to drive down emissions, as we have done over the past 10 years. Now, there is just a little more rational discussion required of being healthy, for all of us around the world to deal with this important topic.
I find Spohr’s language refreshing. What a nice change of pace from moaning about how bad cheap flights on Ryanair and EasyJet are for the environment.
> Read More: Lufthansa, Our Guardian Of The Environment And Living Wage…
And in the case of cutting emissions, it really goes beyond flight shaming. New and fuel efficient aircraft not only are better for the environment, but save money. It’s a win-win. Spohr added;
We do not need to be ‘woken up’ to saving fuel. Fuel is 20 to 25% of our costs. We’ve been trying to drive costs down for years!
CONCLUSION
I’ve written about how the flight shaming movement has caught on in Sweden and the Netherlands. That has forced airlines like SAS and KLM to adapt, sometimes in ironic ways, like KLM initially celebrating its centennial by encouraging people not to fly.
> Read More: KLM Shames Itself To Celebrate 100th Anniversary
Spohr demonstrates, however, that airlines are not the main problem and unlike the energy sector–which is emitting more carbon dioxide than ever before–at least airlines are taking the issue seriously and actually taking steps to cut emissions.
(H/T: Simple Flying // image: Lufthansa)
Just like the trade deal with china, the capitalists will eventually wake up when it’s too late about climate change, realize they have given too much away in their quest for money and then will push to adopt policies quickly.
As with trade, the gains will have accrued to only a select few while they will expect everyone to bear the costs equally dec. We are not falling for it unless the capitalists pay a proportionate share of their gains in costs.
Time to sharpen the guillotines.
German logic at its best. They see the real problem and its solution, not just some stupid gimmick. Lol.
Oh wow….no, no, no. I’m speaking as a marketing / communications specialist who earns much of his living from the aviation industry. I’m also currently writing a special report for Airline Marketing Monthly on Flight Shaming looking at how the industry should respond in communications terms, and this is not the way.
While I can see how it pleases some who are sick of airlines being in the firing line, it comes across as exasperration bordering on arrogance. Using the 2% figure is a mistake, it’s being questioned anyway.
A better approach is to admit that we all have a part to play – individuals, the industry, and Govts, to engage honestly with the concerns raised, and to show how we’re addressing them.
Fortunately some airlines get it – I’d highlight easyJet and Air New Zealand as examples.
Yet his airline charges a lot more for direct routes and substantially cheaper for indirect flights (evenm worse, they take people to court to avoid this). Hypocrite.
Gee, let’s not allow facts to get in the way of childish, emotion-laden tantrums by the entitled among us! Heaven forbid, this guy actually makes a good point.
Life is full of trade-offs. You can live in a low-consumer good society that supposedly is “environmentally friendly”, only I’ve spent time in Africa and have seen how that works. Not well. Most energy generated by gathering and burning of trees, and endangered species hunted to near extinction. Not to mention: refuse everywhere because the economy is so poor that the luxury of “waste collection” doesn’t exist.
So yes, our first-world existence may come at the “cost” of generating some CO2 (and the negatives of that are debatable), but the alternatives are probably even worse for the planet.
Sure temps rose sharply in the 80s and 90s, but since early 2000s they have remained relatively unchanged. Co2 has continued to climb though (thanks to China). Sea level has risen at a consistent rate for the last 200 years, indeed since the last ice age. That won’t stop until the next ice age. There has been no uptick in hurricanes, and the polar bears are doing just fine. Climate change is nothing but an excuse for idiots like debit to bash capitalism and the US. Their only solution ever offered to climate change is socialism and globalism. Gosh, what a coincidence.
Look at data yourself, don’t trust activists with sociology degrees pretending to be climate scientists who make outlandish predictions that are never accurate, and for God’s sake stop following a brainwashed, angry, autistic teenager.
Personally, I think the recent “Flight Shaming” fad is wonderful, and I welcome more of that. Better availability in forward cabins for me. Bless their souls.