airlines

With rising concerns over climate change and increasing commitment from travel companies to become carbon neutral in the future, cleaner aviation is needed. Credit: iurii / Shutterstock.

According to GlobalData’s latest Covid-19 Recovery Consumer Survey (7-11 October), 43% of respondents globally said ‘How ethical / environmentally friendly / socially responsible the product / service is’ always or often influences their product or service choice. This means airlines that react quickest to the growing desire for sustainable travel will hold a competitive advantage over rivals, potentially becoming more appealing to nearly half of all travellers.

With rising concerns over climate change and increasing commitment from travel companies to become carbon neutral in the future, cleaner aviation is needed. It is vital that airlines adapt to this emerging demand and harness technology to create new, greener ways of flying.

Taking into account the global Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic shift in market needs and wants. The airlines that react quickest to these changing demands will have an opportunity to cement themselves as market leaders within the aviation industry and accelerate recovery.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a clean substitute for fossil jet fuels. Rather than being made from petroleum, SAF is produced from sustainable sources such as waste oils, agriculture residues, or non-fossil CO₂.

The adoption of SAF could attract a significant number of travellers that are growing increasingly concerned about the emissions that airlines are creating, helping to meet their own sustainability goals as individuals.

Covid-19 has changed customer needs

Companies that react quickest to new demands from travellers due to Covid-19 will find themselves in the best position to recover from the pandemic.

Increased health and safety procedures will be at the forefront of customer expectations and it has been suggested that a new ‘Gen-C’ tourist will emerge from the pandemic. This tourist will not be defined by traditional demographics but a need for reassurances around health and safety. Airlines that can tap into this market will be most likely to experience a stronger recovery than their competitors.

There will likely be an increased demand for low-cost airlines as GlobalData’s latest Covid-19 Recovery Consumer Survey (7-11 October) states that 47% of respondents globally believe that the economic situation in their country will worsen in the coming months. Furthermore, over a quarter (27%) of respondents believe their own personal financial situation will worsen.

This highlights the growing role that budget airlines will likely play in the aviation market over the coming years and full-service airlines will likely need to adopt similar pricing strategies to compete in an already hyper-competitive industry.

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