The price of the ticket is usually the main deciding factor for most customers when booking a flight. A recent parliamentary question enquired whether indicators for CO2 emissions and the associated taxes could help raise awareness for more eco-friendly modes of transport.
Some online booking platforms already offer an estimate of the CO2 emissions per passenger of the flights offered. An initiative that attracted the attention of MP Marc Goergen from the Pirate Party, who decided to submit a parliamentary question on the subject to Minister for Mobility François Bausch.
In his response on Tuesday, the Minister replied that the introduction of such an indicator would certainly be "useful" and could help "raise awareness" among consumers "who could then decide whether they are ready to turn to a more eco-responsible mode of transport".
Bausch was therefore rather in favour of the introduction of such a system and assured that, on the Luxair side, "environmental concerns are very present" and that "discussions are underway to better inform passengers and to offer them options regarding taxes linked to CO2 emissions" from air travel.
The Luxembourg State holds direct stakes in the airline company and has a voting right within Luxair's Board of Directors.
Beyond the Minister's favourable view on the matter, there are, however, no concrete plans to introduce such indicators at the moment. In fact, in the current circumstances, the main goal of the Luxembourg airline company is to survive the crisis. As Luxair's CEO confirmed again on Monday, the company is "experiencing difficult times" and thus the CO2 emission indicators when booking flights will probably have to be put on the back burner.
