In 2020, the Corona pandemic had a severe impact on us personally, but of course had an impact on our operations too. The consequences of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. Nevertheless, despite these challenging times, sustainability has remained our guiding principle across our business activities, and we have set ourselves ambitious targets: by 2030 we want to halve our CO2 emissions of our flights compared to 2019, and achieve a neutral balance by 2050.
To reach these targets, we continue to modernize our fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft, expanding our commitment to Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and we are offering our customers the option to compensate for their emissions through our digital platform “Compensaid” and via our Corporate Value Fares.
When it comes to modernize our fleet, five Airbus A350-900s and five Boeing B787-9 will join the Lufthansa fleet, bringing positive impact on the Group’s carbon footprint.
I was not aware until recently, that on average, these new aircraft will only consume approximately 2.5 litres of kerosene per passenger and 100 kilometres flown. This is about 30 percent less than many current as well as previously operated long-haul aircraft models. This is really impressive!
For the Lufthansa Group, SAF is essential for the energy transition in aviation. Compared to fossil fuels, SAF today reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent. The Lufthansa Group is working intensively on various projects to make more SAF available. Currently they are only available in extremely small quantities on the global market. With the “Compensaid” platform, the Lufthansa Innovation Hub has developed a forward-looking customer solution for the use of SAF. Passengers can replace conventional kerosene 1:1 with SAF, regardless of the choice of airline, and thus fly almost CO2-neutral. The platform calculates the price difference between SAF and fossil kerosene for the flight. If the traveller decides to use SAF, the traveller pays the corresponding price difference. The SAF are then fed into flight operations within six months. The net CO2 savings for these synthetic fuels is up to 80 per cent.
The Lufthansa Group also offers corporate customers who want to contribute to climate protection the option of purchasing Corporate Value Fares on continental routes. When a customer purchases any of the new Lufthansa Group Corporate Value Fares*, all carbon emissions from Austrian Airlines/Lufthansa/SWISS operated flights will be offset by the Lufthansa Group through environmental projects. The Lufthansa Group will compensate 100% of the CO2 value by investing the amount in certified, high-quality climate protection projects, which, in addition to reducing CO2 in the project regions, also contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We therefore continue to stand by our responsibility to minimize the impact of flying on the environment, and we are committed to reach our targets and to create more value for our customers.
If you would like more information on sustainability, Compensaid for Corporate Programs and Corporate Value Fares you can contact myself or your LHG Key Account Manager. You can also listen to our podcast episodes about Green Energy and CSR, available at business.lufthansagroup.com
* Subject to eligibility