Lufthansa adds €72 ‘green tax’ to airfares

Lufthansa, Swiss and other members of the Lufthansa Group are introducing a passenger surcharge of up to €72 (AU$115) to cover the rising costs of alternative fuels needed to lower aircraft emissions.

The new levies will apply to all departures on Lufthansa Group flights from the European Union, the UK, Norway and Switzerland from January 1 2025, and includes bookings made from June 26, 2024.

The amount of the surcharge varies depending on both the route and the travel class, but spans from €1 to €72.

For example, the short hop between Munich and London will see a €2 surcharge on any one-way economy class ticket and €3 in business class.

For longer trips such as Frankfurt to New York, Lufthansa’s ‘green tax’ stands at €27 on a one-way business class ticket and €54 in first class.

Lufthansa says its ‘environmental cost surcharge’ has been made necessary by EU-mandated measures such as a ‘statutory blending quota’ for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for departures from European Union countries from January 2025.

A statement issued by the Lufthansa Group – which also includes Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings – said the group “will not be able to bear the successively increasing additional costs resulting from regulatory requirements in the coming years on its own.”

“Part of these expected costs for the year 2025 are now to be covered by the new Environmental Cost Surcharge.”

And those costs could increase as the years roll on.

The EU’s “mandatory SAF blending quota” requires that 2% of all jet fuel should contain sustainable aviation fuel from 2025, notching up to 6% from 2030, then jumping to 20% from 2035 and 70% from 2050.

The Lufthansa Group claims “this will lead to additional costs in the billions in the future.”

Other airlines across Europe could follow Lufthansa’s lead in passing on this EU-legislated cost of lowering carbon emissions to passengers.

Many airlines around the world – including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qantas – have set a target of operating 5-10% of flights using sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, in order to reduce overall emissions to 25% of 2019 levels.

This is considered a milestone on the ambitious path to ‘net zero emissions’ by 2050 – a measure which airline industry body IATA estimates will be largely based on the use of sustainable aviation fuel, along with the adoption of electric and hydrogen engines plus “offsets and carbon capture”.

Lufthansa has already introduced a special class of ‘Economy Green’ fares. Priced between mid-range Economy Classic and Economy Flex tickets, the green fares promise “More sustainable flying through SAF (20%) and emissions offsetting (80%)” while adding “20% Miles and 20% Points and Qualifying Points.” 

However, those ‘do good, feel good’ fares are also priced at a premium: on an economy trip between Frankfurt and London, an Economy Green ticket can cost €281 compared to €216 for a no-frills Economy Light fare, €260 for Economy Classic and €295 for Economy Flex.