BUSINESS NEWS
Aviation sector criticises emissions trading plans
Ian Taylor
A family of four could pay £150 in carbon charges in 2030 through Europe’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) following an agreement last week that drew criticism from airlines and environmental groups. The European Commission,
European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers signed off on the next phase of the ETS for aviation, bringing forward the end of free carbon allowances for airlines by a year to 2026. They agreed a portion of revenue
from the scheme, about €1.6 billion a year, will fund sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and airlines will be required to report the non-CO2 climate effects of flying, which could be as damaging as CO2, for the first time. The ETS covers all UK flights
to and from the EU, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. However, the scheme will not be expanded to include flights beyond Europe. Instead, the EC will “assess” the impact of the global Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme
On the Beach’s premium focus boosts results
Online travel agent On the Beach reported a profit of just over £2 million in its full-year results last week, as well as a 15% increase in total transaction value over 2019 for the 12 months to September.
travelweekly.co.uk Michael O’Leary
for International Aviation (Corsia) “to see if [by 2026] it’s delivering on the goals of the Paris Agreement” on climate. Airline lobby group Airlines for
Europe (A4E) welcomed the SAF allowance but said: “A4E is extremely disappointed about phasing out free ETS allowances…well before effective decarbonisation solutions will be available.” Brussels-based environmental
group Transport & Environment (T&E) warned the agreement meant “another lost decade in tackling emissions”, arguing the failure to include long-haul flights meant
“58% of Europe’s aviation CO2 emissions remain unaccounted for”. The EU ETS is forecast to raise
€39 billion in carbon charges by 2030. T&E said including all flights would raise €97 billion. Following the agreement it noted: “A family of four flying between Paris and Athens would pay €169 [£150] under the ETS in 2030. A business traveller flying four times a year between Paris and New York would pay €12 under Corsia while emitting twice as much CO2.” Ryanair chief executive Michael
O’Leary said: “Europe’s most-polluting flights will be exempt from paying their fair share. That is clearly unfair.”
Recovery dreams are ‘misplaced’
A leading aviation analyst has challenged the notion that travel’s recovery from Covid-19 will continue to outweigh the difficult economic outlook, describing such optimism as “misplaced”. Chris Tarry said there
was not only “an increasingly difficult economic background”, but also “a cost base impacted by higher fuel prices” and “significant pay increases for pilots and cabin crew”. He warned: “Optimism of demand continuing to be strong at recent price levels is misplaced.” His comments came as
Iata, the international airlines organisation, added its weight to forecasts that the industry could fly through the deteriorating demand outlook, predicting carriers would record a total profit of $4.7 billion in 2023. Iata director general Willie
Walsh said there would be “financial recovery, with a first industry profit since 2019” next year, and insisted “we’ve turned the corner to profitability”. However, he also noted that: “Airline profitability is razor-thin.”
Simon Cooper
values 31% higher than in 2019 thanks to “a greater mix of long haul, B2B and premium beach holidays”. Chief executive Simon Cooper,
who founded On the Beach in 2004, noted the value of summer 2022 bookings was 19% ahead of 2019’s. He argued: “Positioning the
The company, which owns
tour operator Classic Collection, also reported group revenue of £144 million and average booking
brand to appeal to customers looking at five-star bookings across short and long-haul led to the group capturing a greater share in the premium segment of the market.”
However, “the lates market for
value holidays remained subdued” and sales of three-star holidays were 18% below the 2019 level. He added: “We’ve started
the new financial year with a healthy forward order book for summer 2023.” Chief financial officer Shaun
Morton will take over from Cooper within 12 months. Cooper will remain on the board as a non-executive director.
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