Flight shaming could hamper sustainability investments: EasyJet chief

Airlines will need to continue to attract passengers and remain profitable if they are to invest in a sustainable future, according to EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren. Sweden-born Lundgren, speaking at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce UK’s Impact sustainability conference in London, said that so-called ’flight shaming’ was not the solution to aviation’s environmental challenges. It will take billions of dollars of investment to address environmental challenges, says Lundgren, who argues that revenue growth will be vital to allow investment in sustainability initiatives. However, he cautions that the shift to a more environmentally friendly future must be an industry-wide effort in order to make the transition viable; suppressing demand is not the solution, he stresses. Anko van der Werff, CE of SAS, says that sustainable aviation fuel will remain the industry’s short-term focus given that zero-emission aircraft with sufficient range and capacity for airline operations will not be available until the 2030s.<br/>