[Swissdiver]

This is 10 years old: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution

This decade saw planes improving their footprint. What’s about container ships? But it is easier to target air travellers and it satisfies a sin: envy…

[MarcusGB]

Many points on the issues raised here, a very interesting debate.

Let us not forget the Huge Government tax that we have to pay to fly off our Island!
Most Governments Worldwide charge tiny amounts, or have had to abolish these if introduced.
We are very highly taxed quite enough thank you, let alone off setting our carbon emissions, The Government could do that with what we pay.
Here are the rates set for 2019…

Rates from 1 April 2019
Destination bands Rates (reduced, standard or higher)
Direct Indirect
Band A Reduced £13 £13
– Standard £26 £26
– Higher £78 £78

Band B Reduced £0 £78
– Standard £0 £172
– Higher £0 £515

I have started ex Europe eg KLM from Amsterdam for long haul flights for a long time now and saved many Thousands of £’s as a result.
It is quite hypocritical for the UK Government to talk of Green taxes or measures, when they could use this revenue we all pay as do visitors here.

They could easily regulate older Aircraft, or those flying in small aircraft for a slot, to be penalised.
Support those Airlines investing in new Dreamliners and A350s, new Airbus 220’s, emitting 25% less. With more improved efficiency they should be encouraged, and maybe we could pay less tax to choose and fly these Airlines?

KLM (as i know more of them travelling and as a Shareholder) have a great Social Responsibility ethos, and have are awarded for their innovations over 10 years now. The first to mix Biofuels and are unique in their many attempts to fly sustainably, responsibly. Yet i see no UK airports with any such attempts. I support by choosing KLM/AMS, using their hub that innovates, so i contribute already, and act.

We remain an Island, and unfortunately as other countries around The World this is the only rapid form of transport to get off, paying for the right too.
I wonder how much a ferry uses to transport goods and people in comparison?
Trains also have to be powered for their electric supply, and all the infrastructure or rails ploughing through country (think HS2!)
They just use us a cash cows, like paying £15 for security at LHR each!
Maybe these Company profits should be diverted a little instead of laying the blame on us as travellers.
KLM, just one innovation –

https://news.klm.com/klm-zet-stappen-richting-duurzame-vluchten-en/
Vehicles at airports can be gas powered or solar as at Schiphol.

Flying is a part of our needs as a World Community, and i do not know many travellers who also have no interest in our environment.
So i would like to see Governments who /where and what our Travel taxes are spent on, and let those be “Zero profit emissions”, so they spend all we give and show us!
If we buy less cotton t-shirts, and eat less meat, it will have a greater impact than our flights, that make the World’s communities truly global.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Jacob

[LuganoPirate]

Personally I think this has more to do with the fall in sterling than anything else. I also read somewhere that hotel bookings by Brits in France are heavily down due to the currency as well as the French hotels now charging more. Italy is holding up well but many are travelling to Turkey, Bulgaria and other places where the pound goes a lot further and you get a lot more for you money.

Many pensioners who left for France, SWitzerland and elsewhere, who had good British pensions are also now finding the pension is no longer so good when converted into CHF or Euro. Consequently they have been financially forced to head back to Blighty.

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BPP

[canucklad]

[quote quote=951905]Let us not forget the Huge Government tax that we have to pay to fly off our Island!
Most Governments Worldwide charge tiny amounts, or have had to abolish these if introduced.[/quote]

Excellent point Marcus , combine this with my earlier point about environmentalists making so much NOISE about us flyers killing the planet and then factor in our politicians having uniquely weak back bones then don’t expect change in our APD anytime soon.

The SNP with its once balanced social economic policies, including spending money to alleviate poverty realised that in order to counter the deficit caused by that spending and to maintain and grow wealth in Scotland abolishing APD would need to occur
This would have encouraged private enterprise and spend by giving us a competitive edge in attracting inward investment.

Yet political expediency first (needing the greens to vote for their budget) and then secondly jumping on a public relations bandwagon and pandering to public emotion after the Swedish lass gave a speech in Edinburgh shaming us as Polar Bear murderers every time we board a flight means that inward investment has pretty much faltered.

Then again , there’s an easy out ……

[MarcusGB]

My usual days in Amsterdam for meetings monthly just, and apparently hotel bookings down 2-3 %, and many British travellers not travelling as before.
A definite drop in UK based bookings.
This is part of Accor so a significant measure, but at 2.5* hotels to 5* it sweeps across. Forecast looks poor for bookings ahead.
Hotels based in Euros, will make a large dent if you pay in £ Sterling.
If as reflected in people around me professionally and friends network, then clearly neither will there be a flight for these previous bookings.

Ryanair have voted to Strike, so O’Leary’s threats seem to be to Combat this. Actually from the inside Pilots are clearly being bullied, threats of moved from their bases, pushing the fact that Ryanair is now 5 seperate Companies. Every positive aspect of an employee / Employer good management relationship, has broken down or cut.
Pilots and crew are not even allowed water from the Aircraft, no hot drinks and no food!
One Ryanair passenger actually bought drinks for the crew on a flight last week, as she was aware, and felt so badly about their working conditions.
Shocking and very disturbing, this told directly from staff inside the Airline.

[AMcWhirter]

Not only in the UK.

Now Vienna-based LaudaMotion (a Ryanair subsidiary) is facing losses of Euros 50 million.

According to ATW there will be job cuts “if flight crews do not agree to changes that are needed to improve efficiency.”

http://m.atwonline.com/labor/laudamotion-ceo-warns-job-cuts-without-improved-efficiency

[Author]

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