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Flyers say no to paying for green travel
Thursday, 01 May 2008


Almost three quarters of frequent flyers are unwilling to pay extra for airlines using greener fuels, the ArabianBusiness.com Travel Survey 2008 has found.

Close to 75% of survey respondents who have travelled to between 11-20 countries in the last 12 months said they would not consider changing airlines, or be willing to pay more if an airline adopted a carbon neutral policy or used greener fuels.

The remaining 26% of frequent flyers indicated they would consider paying extra for more environmentally friendly air travel.

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The findings for frequent flyers are in contrast to average results to the question which indicate a more average split of opinion on the issue.

According to the survey, 56.9% of all travelers would consider the price increase, while 43% said they would not.

Greener air travel is a topical issue for airlines globally, as governments and environmental groups press for lower emissions from the aviation industry in a bid to fight climate change.

However, earlier this month Airbus chief Tom Enders claimed the aviation industry was being unfairly targeted over climate change issues.

Future reductions in aircraft emissions should be based on technological innovation rather than regulation, Enders said.

"We think it's a little bit unfair that the aviation sector is singled out for attack by many environmental groups, maybe because we are more visible than other groups," he said.

Signatories to the 1997 UN Kyoto Protocol promised in March to explore ways of curbing the harmful gases that planes emit into the atmosphere.

But Enders said placing curbs on air travel and emissions would be the wrong solution.

"We are absolutely convinced that the solution is not new taxes, new constraints, but technology and innovation," he said.

Airbus in February tested a synthetic fuel made from natural gas, which is cleaner and more efficient than the kerosene currently used and has also tested a fuel cell used to power some electric and hydraulic systems in one of its aircraft.

Although aircraft are becoming more fuel-efficient, the rapid growth of the industry means overall aviation emissions are rising. The aviation market is forecast to double in size every 15 years.

Dubai-based airline Emirates also recently introduced a weight reduction programme to cut carbon emissions, and has invested in a more fuel-efficient fleet.


 
Comments (19 )

Emirates Service
Posted by zooey, Riyadh, KSA on 3 June 2009 at 11:55 UAE time

agree with Mr Nair that only the rewards program encourages me to fly EK, which i do, sometimes reluctantly, but frequently. -so my participation in the survey was coloured only by frequency of flying and not by preference

as for Mr Satish of south africa, similar to you, my friends were travelling from Joburg to Dubai, and had the worst service ever; staff unwilling to do anything, and arrogant when they did. These were 2 young American Muslim girls wearing niqab. They were made to feel very bad by the cabin staff. Maybe it's something about the route?? either Durban or Joburg?
influence of low cost carriers
Posted by jaykrishnan, sharjah, u.a.e. on 17 August 2008 at 11:05 UAE time

LCCs play a major role in increasing Gulf states air travel. an average employee who used to travel to home country once in two year is travelling in every year. A person was flying once in a year has doubled or tripled his trip after the arrival of Low cost carriers.
travel has become in an affordable way to common people.
cannot hide the fact that most of the regions airlines have slashed their ticket price almost to half if not less than that due to increase of seat capacity and competition.
The recent fuel price hikes did not massively effect the price structure of most of the regional carries except very few.
Islamic Travel Sector in Europe
Posted by Step in Time Tours, Birmingham, England on 14 May 2008 at 15:58 UAE time

Although we can see a burgeoning Muslim travel trade increasing in the Middle East. Unfortunately this has overshadowed the importance of re-discovering certain destinations that have been oblivious to the Muslim world. European destinations such as Spain, was a part of the Islamic Empire in the medieval period of history and as a result of this its culture is infused totally with Islamic insertions.

Indeed traveling to Spain and looking at this history provides solutions for many of the ideological problems we have today especially in terms of the so called Clash of Civilisations.

This also provides clearer solutions behind resentment that has increased after 9/11 across the world. Which has lead to the UK's FCO and US State Department earmarked warnings.
Unskilled Workers
Posted by george thomas, dubai, united arab emirates on 13 May 2008 at 02:07 UAE time

"To stem soaring unemployment among nationals". Good idea - but will thousands upon thousands of nationals be queuing up to work on the construction sites?
Most preferred destination
Posted by harsha, dubai, uae on 11 May 2008 at 10:47 UAE time

I had participated in the travel survey. I wanted to know the results of the most preferred destination for holidays. How can I see the same results.

Editor's reply We will release this information shortly.
Travel data
Posted by Zobia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 11 May 2008 at 09:00 UAE time

Hi I participated in the survey can I see the results of the survey. We sell travel insurance and this will be useful to know how frequently people travel and what is the travel market in UAE.

Editor's Reply Yes, of course. Please visit the results of the survey here.
Travelling to different countries
Posted by Akkalayil Koshy, Dubai, U A E on 11 May 2008 at 08:54 UAE time

Would like to Travel with Family
Rewards Program holds the Key....
Posted by H.Nair, Dubai on 11 May 2008 at 08:49 UAE time

Am a frequelent traveller in Emirates. To bare it all, there is nothing fantastic about travelling in Emirates. Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines every other airline is almost the same. But how these airlines carry themselves (the Marketing strategies) in the eyes of the common traveller, makes them different. If not for the Skywards Flying returns program of Emirates, I dont think i would have travelled with Emirates so often. Just an illustration, my hometown is in the South Coast of India. And as part of my job profile in dubai, i am expected to travel outside dubai at least 10 days a month (and i clock at least 8,000 Miles a month), which means, if i travel in Emirates in economy, for all my business travels, for 3 months, i get a free ticket to my hometown.....that hopefully explains the penchant of almost a majority of Emirates passengers. In my opinion Emirates is an arilines which simply have a superb flying-returns program.
Emirates
Posted by Greg Hodge, Dubai, UAE on 11 May 2008 at 07:28 UAE time

I would agree that Emirates has very good service but only until something goes wrong. They lost my luggage over a month ago and have been very ordinary in their attempts to resolve the issue. A word of warning to travellers make sure that you read all the terms and conditions before you fly with them.
comment
Posted by patrick abou chedid, dubai, uae on 10 May 2008 at 16:28 UAE time

It is true that Emirates Airlines has a high price, but I do have to admit that they have the best service ever...
To Be or Not To Be
Posted by Ferdinand, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 10 May 2008 at 16:05 UAE time

Emirates flies to over 100 destination in 62 countries, most of the travelers know this airlines in Dubai and yet this airline is not the best airline when it comes to service. Most well known, yes.

Its staff really need to be trained for a multi-cultural environment.
Poor service from Emirates
Posted by Sandeep, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 9 May 2008 at 13:37 UAE time

I agree with satish. Emirates standards are falling down once again. I am frequent traveller and previously shifted to cathay Pacific due to bad service on board / rude air hostesses. But again in between last year there was some improvement to go down lately on customer service. i think it depends upon which route you flying, the service is always bad on certain routes like whenflying to India etc.
Try flying cathay pacific its wonderful. people serving onboard are excellent, very helpful, never ignorant.
Emirates popularity not surprising
Posted by John on 9 May 2008 at 11:16 UAE time

Must hand it to Emirates for ensuring it is still the most popular airline despite having one of the worst on-board service and ridiculously high prices. Just goes to show that we still live in a world where consumers choose brand image over comfort and service. Nonetheless, all other aspects of the airline are pretty decent.
Emirates Airlines
Posted by Hombil, Muscat, Oman on 8 May 2008 at 17:52 UAE time

I agree with Satish regarding poor service from Emirates. After many unpleasant experiences, me and my family avoid flying Emirates, unless we have no choice. Wonder, how year after year Emirates end up getting some award or other? Are these awards genuinely earned or bought?
And passing though Dubai airport is concerned, it's another story. We do not like to transit through Dubai for many reasons - unfriendly staff, too crowded, long walks between gates... the list is endless.
service watch
Posted by Kenneth, Dubai, UAE on 8 May 2008 at 15:15 UAE time

I've been flying Emirates since the early 1990s and I have to say I have noticed a decline in service especially on the European routes. the Staff is not as well trained and groomed and the organisation is not as sharp as it used to be... growing fast is great but attention to detail is still important.
Re: Poor Service from Emirates
Posted by Nadeem Raza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 8 May 2008 at 14:49 UAE time

I do not agree completely here as I travel very frequently with emirates/luftansa/thai/saudi airlines/swiss air etc. and from my experiences, I can say that Emirates is outstanding with Thai as the worst.

Emirates have well maintained aircrafts and hospitable staff, whereas Thai have old aircrafts along with rude staff.

We all differ with our likes and dislikes, and that's why everything sells in this world.
Emirates
Posted by Ajith, UAE on 8 May 2008 at 13:49 UAE time

Emirates may be the popular airline, but the worst in service. The ground and air staffs' attitude borders on arrogance esp towards passengers whom they consider non worthy. I was offloaded once at the boarding gate in Dubai airport as, as per Emirates staffer i wasn't eligible for visa on arrival in Qatar.

The person asked me 'do you live in dubai?' and when I said yes, the reply was 'you can at least go home'. I called up Qatar airways airport office and the person there accommodated me in the next Qatar airways flight after getting authorization for a visa on arrival in Doha!

I never travel Emirates, prefers Qatar or Sri Lankan which are much better airlines.
Poor service from Emirates
Posted by Satish, Durban, South Africa on 8 May 2008 at 11:46 UAE time

I've flown with Emirates in January 2008, was very disappointed.
All flights were delayed, the service was not what I expected on-board.We were flying with our 1 year old baby and the hostesses never considered our situation, all meals were brought at once. Friendliness - can't comment on that, I had better response flying SAA and Delta.
Length of vacations
Posted by Mohammed Azizi, Dubai, UAE on 5 May 2008 at 18:34 UAE time

Really interesting to see the average length of a vacation seems now to be around two weeks. I guess those long summer months when there was little point to be in the region have gone. I am not sure if that's a good thing or not... but I will certainly miss that stress free month....
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