New Report: Sustainable Aviation Outlook Report 2024
Our comprehensive analysis of the airline industry's progress, challenges, and opportunities towards achieving net-zero goals.
This Earth Week, we are launching our inaugural Sustainable Aviation Outlook Report 2024. Download your copy here.
Let’s be honest. If you’re reading this, you do not need a re-telling of the hard facts:
You know that the aviation industry is going to be incredibly hard to decarbonise.
You know that despite the seemingly insurmountable challenge ahead of us, the industry is committed to the 2050 net zero goal and exploring many significant approaches.
You know that if we do nothing, our current contribution of 2-3% to global emissions will increase to as much as 25% by 2050.
Most of all, you know the simple, inexorable fact: the world is already reeling from the climate crisis – record temperatures, heatwaves, floods, wildfires, ecosystem damage, loss of livelihoods and economic distress all threaten not just our future but the present as well.
The ship of considering whether to do anything about climate change has already sailed; the question now is how quickly we can decarbonise.
What can the airline industry do about sustainability?
Given the state of affairs, the question of what the industry can do about sustainability is rife with controversy, speculation and divided opinions. Is net zero by 2050 realistic? Is it equitable for all? Do we have the money to make it happen? Will customers support it?
Aviation’s pathways to net zero are, too, hotly contested. Only sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with its myriad challenges, is available at present.
Other technologies – hydrogen, electric or hybrid versions of both – are years away from commercial entry.
In such a scenario, an airline executive working in sustainability might be tempted to give in to hopelessness or despair.
At SimpliFlying, we attempt to provide an antidote to such pessimism.
Yes, there are no easy solutions, and the path to decarbonisation is going to be hard.
Yes, the impact of investments may not be seen for a few years.
Yes, it’s hard to pass on the additional costs to customers while remaining competitive and profitable.
Our inaugural Sustainable Aviation Outlook report offers hope, reassurance, answers and some helpful suggestions along the way.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR AIRLINES
Better together: First of all, airlines must remember that sustainability is about cooperation, not competition. It is in the industry’s collective interest to decarbonise. The way forward is by recognising we’re in it together.
Learn what’s being done today: By surveying a selection of airlines that are investing significantly in sustainability, we want to show how your peers are going about the business of decarbonisation across five key categories: team structure; strategy; managing perceptions; sustainability initiatives; and budget and future outlook.
Incremental but immediate solutions: Even if you despair that there are no immediate solutions, there’s no reason to shy away from incremental approaches that add up. No SAF? No problem. Take a different approach to optimisation. Perhaps fleet renewal. Perhaps by investing in eco-piloting measures and technologies that can reduce hundreds of kgs of CO2 emissions per aircraft per day.
Start the work: Most of all, do not wait for the perfect solution. Your peers believe they can do something today. Believe in them, believe with them. Do not think 2050 is someone else’s problem. The work being done today will determine how quickly the industry can meet its net zero target.
Know where we stand: The first part of our report (with our partners Cirium and Envest) offers an industry overview in terms of how various regions and routes stack up in terms of relative and overall emissions.
About the survey
To gain a deeper understanding of how airlines are approaching sustainability, we conducted a comprehensive survey of 20 leading carriers from around the world, including major players such as Air France-KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa Group, All Nippon Airways, and Southwest Airlines.
The survey covered five key areas: team structure, sustainability strategy, perception of sustainability and communications, sustainability initiatives, and budget and future outlook.
Our objective was to assess the current state of sustainability efforts within the airline industry, identify best practices and challenges, and provide insights into how carriers can effectively integrate sustainability into their business strategies.
Special thanks to our partners Cirium and Envest Global for the rich and comprehensive data that has further helped us paint a vivid picture of the current aviation landscape.