sa-07x01

1. This course is prepared under the Erasmus+ KA-210-YOU Project titled
«Skilling Youth for the Next Generation Air Transport Management»
Sustainability
Management in Aviation
The airline perspective
Prof. Dr. Frank Fichert
Worms University of Applied Sciences

2. Airlines, just like airports, can take many measures to reduce their
environmental ‘footprint’ that are similar to measures in other industries,
e.g., reducing energy consumption of office buildings, reducing waste, etc.
Also the principles of environmental management (see the overview in
S/V 06-01) are applicable to the airline industry.
The following slides will focus on selected areas that are of particular
relevance for airlines.
The airline perspective 2
Introduction

3. Reducing fuel consumption reduces GHG emissions and at the same time
reduces fuel costs (however, there might be a trade-off if other costs are
increasing).
There are many options, in particular
- Operating modern (more fuel efficient) aircraft
- Reduce aircraft weight
- Improve operations (at the airport as well as during the flight)
- …
The airline perspective 3
Fuel consumption

4. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) might replace fossil fuels. In the EU, the
use of a certain share of SAF will become mandatory in the future.
Some airlines already use SAF either in specific trials or on (few) selected
flights on a voluntary basis.
Moreover, many airline are engaged in projects that develop more
environmental friendly products (e.g., electric aircraft) or procedures (e.g.,
air traffic management).
The airline perspective 4
SAF and other innovations

5. Many airlines provide an opportunity for passengers to compensate some
or even all carbon emissions.
These programs differ with respect to the integration within the booking
process, the options provided (e.g., offsets vs. use of SAF), and also the
amount for compensating one unit of CO2 emissions.
Although VCOs are offered for many years, the share of passengers that
compensate their emissions is very small – from an economic perspective
this can be seen as a typical ‘free rider’ issue.
The airline perspective 5
Voluntary Carbon Offsets (VCO)

6. The term ‘greenwashing’ refers to statements or campaigns of firms that are
misleading, suggesting a high level of sustainability.
‘Greenwashing’ might not only lead to a negative effect on the image if the
firm (often through social media), but there might also be legal
consequences, as firms are usually not allowed to make statements that
are deliberately wrong.
Examples for airline campaigns that are considered to be ‘greenwashing’
refer to ‘carbon neutral flights’ or airlines that claim that they are ‘protecting
the future’.
The airline perspective 6
‘Greenwashing’

7. Please read one or two airline sustainability reports and list – in a systematic
way – the measures that are mentioned/described.
Please search for examples of airlines that have been accused of
‘greenwashing’ and discuss the respective campaigns within a group.
The airline perspective 7
Tasks