Among the directives promoted by the European Union for the reduction of CO₂ emissions are those relating to the use of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), which in the short term (by 2030, depending on the industry) will have to be used exclusively instead of fossil fuel (currently a mixture of SAF and hydrocarbons is used).
Tight deadlines are leading to increased costs for airlines, which is unsurprising they are dumping at least some of it on travelersraising the price of tickets.
Lufthansa has therefore decided to increase its fares, in view of operating costs that will increase; in close proximity, Air France-KLMaccording to Reuters, could take the same initiative.
On Tuesday the German airline announced its intention to introduce the “surcharge on environmental costs”, to cover expenses related to using the SAF to power its aircraft.
The range of price increases starts from + 1 euro and reaches an increase of + 72 eurosdepending on the reference flight, for all flights with departure from European Union countries, Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland.
The news had been in the air for some time, at least since 2023, when Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa warned that the targets imposed by the EU would be difficult to achieve. The statement, according to some, implied that a portion of the costs would be passed on to customers.
In detail, a Lufthansa spokesperson stated that for routes a short and medium range rates will increase up to five euros in economy and seven in business class.
On long-haul flights, costs will increase between 18 and 36 euros for business rates and up to 72 euros for first class starting from 2025.
Some increases will come into force very shortly, from today 26 June, others next year; Lufthansa said in a note that the reason for the increase was to hedge “part of the ever-increasing additional costs due to regulatory environmental requirements”.
To be honest, it is not the first time that the airline group has decided to impose a contribution on its travelers to support the use of the SAF; from January 2022 a supplement of up to 12 euros had already been added for business rates and up to four euros for economy rates.
The price increase will apply to all Lufthansa Group airlines by the end of 2025, with the exception of Eurowings ticketsby virtue of the fact that they are sold directly by the company.
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