BUSINESS NEWS
Boeing faces ‘hesitancy to fly again on 737 Max’
Ian Taylor
Two US consumer surveys have heightened concerns that passengers may shun the Boeing 737 Max when regulators give the grounded aircraſt a go-ahead to fly again. A study of 2,000 US travellers
by the Atmosphere Research Group found 70% would hesitate to book a flight on the 737 Max and a separate UBS Evidence Lab survey of 1,000 respondents gave the same result. In the Atmosphere study, 40%
said they would book a higher-priced flight rather than fly on the 737 Max. Only 14% said they would fly the 737 Max within six months of its return to service and two-thirds said they would hesitate to fly the aircraſt a year aſter its return. Te 737 Max was grounded
following two crashes which killed 346 passengers and crew – a Lion Air flight from Jakarta in October last year and an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March.
European airlines counter plan for a 10% emissions tax
Leading airlines hit out at an EC study suggesting a 10% tax on airfares in Europe would cut aircraſt emissions without damaging the economy. Te study on ‘Taxes in the Field
of Aviation and their Impact’ was published last week. Te Airlines for Europe group,
travelweekly.co.uk
The global fleet of B737 Max aircraft remains grounded
Atmosphere found seven out of
10 passengers were aware the 737 Max was grounded and just one in five business travellers and 14% of leisure passengers said they would “definitely” fly the aircraſt in the first six months it returned. However, the UBS survey offered
a positive sign for Boeing, suggesting two-thirds of passengers seldom or never check the type of aircraſt they will fly on before booking. It also suggested there could be less opposition to boarding the 737 Max
once the aircraſt has operated safely for a period, with 60% saying they would consider boarding aſter six months or more of safe operation. One in 10 said they could consider flying within three months. Boeing declined to comment on
the survey results. No schedule has yet been agreed
for the aircraſt’s return. Tui and Norwegian are among the carriers to have grounded 737 Max aircraſt. Ryanair has postponed delivery of its first 737 Max aircraſt to the autumn.
Cruise lines deny report on sulphur dioxide emissions
Cruise ships emited 20 times more sulphur dioxide in Europe than all the continent’s cars in 2017, according to a report published last week. But cruise lines dismissed the report as “inaccurate and misleading”. Te study by the Brussels-
based Transport and Environment federation suggested Carnival Corporation ships emited half the sector’s 62 kilotonne total of sulphur dioxide emissions, while Europe’s 260 million cars produced 3.2 kilotonnes. However, a Carnival spokesman
said: “Te report is based on an in-house analysis applying highly questionable methodology with ‘best guess’ estimated data on emissions. Te figures do not reconcile with calculations using actual fuel data and emissions from cruise ships as well as data independently collected and verified by ports.” Sulphur dioxide is a toxic
by-product of fossil fuels. Te study identified Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Venice as worst affected by emissions.
Menno Snel
which includes Ryanair, easyJet, Luſthansa, Air France-KLM and IAG, dismissed the report as “simplistic”, claiming it “does not accurately reflect the negative impact such taxes have on the economy”. Te study calculates that applying
an EU-wide tax on jet fuel of €330 per 1,000 litres would raise fares by 10%, reduce passenger numbers by 11% and cut emissions by 11%. It concedes the tax would reduce jobs in aviation but concludes it would have no overall impact on European employment rates or the economy.
Current rules allow EU
governments only to tax fuel on domestic flights, although none do so. Taxing fuel on international flights has been prohibited since 1944. However, the report proposes the
EC get around the international ban by levying a tax on the fuel aircraſt take on board at EU destinations, since the agreement only prohibits “taxation of fuel on board an aircraſt upon arrival from another state”. Dutch finance minister Menno
Snel raised the idea of an EU-wide aviation tax in February.
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