The majority of South African air travellers are unwilling to pay additional green fees to offset their carbon emissions, a recent poll and study suggests.
A Travel News poll revealed that 90% of readers believed South African air passengers would not voluntarily pay a green fee.
Furthermore, a study titled ‘Environmental Consciousness and Air Travel Behaviour: Perspectives from Domestic Air Travellers in South Africa’ surveyed 394 air travellers via social media to assess how environmental awareness influenced airline selection.
The study found that, while all respondents acknowledged that airlines should take measures to reduce their environmental impact, 41,9% opposed outright paying extra to offset emissions. Only 31,5% supported green fees, while 23,6% remained indifferent.
According to the study, South African air travellers believe that the airline industry, not passengers, is responsible for covering the expenses of climate change mitigation.
The pricing dilemma
Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer of FlySafair, believes cost concerns are the primary reason behind South African travellers’ resistance to green fees.
“South African consumers are not inclined to voluntarily pay more for an existing service and, per the study, seem to think that the airlines should absorb the costs.”
However, he noted that airline profit margins were typically too tight to accommodate additional expenses without passing them on to travellers.
Green fees, often used to fund sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and carbon offset initiatives, are already in place in several global markets.
In South Africa, however, they have yet to gain traction among budget-conscious travellers.
Gordon warns that if environmental charges become mandatory through taxation, consumers will eventually have to bear the cost, whether as a separate green fee or incorporated into overall ticket prices.
