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The true cost of a cheap flight
In several areas of the world, particularly
in Europe, there has been a proliferation of
so-called ‘no frills’ airlines. These airlines offer amazingly good deals, a
two-hour flight may cost as little as $40 or $50. If you are lucky, you may
pick up the same flight for 10cents.
Across Europe
there are nearly 50 ‘no frills’ operators, and dozens more regular airlines
that try to compete with them on price. This has opened up a whole new world
for travels.
Quick weekend breaks in a city, three
countries, and 2,000km’s away has become the norm for many Europeans. And who
can blame them, even including taxes, the round trip may only cost $50 or $100.
But increased flights are a serious threat
to our planet's atmosphere. At any one time, 24 hours a day, there are now
close to 750,000 people in flight. It’s taken 100 years to reach that number.
That figure is expected to crash through the one million mark within as little
as five years.
By September 15th, just four
days after the world trade centre attacks, the sky’s over North
America were measured as having 10% more sunlight reaching the
ground than the same day one year earlier.
The only thing that had changed was that
commercial aircraft had been banned from flying for those four days. There can
be no doubt that increased flights are putting even more stress on our
atmosphere through emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Kyoto Protocol set out agreements that,
greenhouse gases will be cut by over 5% by 2012, so that should help the
situation. Well, maybe it would if international aviation were included in the
agreement. Unfortunately, Kyoto
sets targets for individual countries, so only applies to domestic flights.
Within North America, that is a useful
greenhouse gas reducer, but in Europe,
countries are relatively small, and international flights are many times more
common.
One good development is the increased size
and passenger load of aircraft. On average, more people are flying on fewer
planes, (per passenger – per kilometer flown).
Bigger planes are more economical, financially
for the airlines, and also as far as greenhouse gas emissions are concerned.
New technology will make planes more fuel-efficient and far less polluting.
The problem with that is the average life
of a commercial aircraft is 20 to 25 years. Research, development and
production of new aircraft takes 10 to 15 years. So if we have to wait another
8-12 year’s for a large number of new efficient planes to be launched.
Then an additional 10-15 years, for most of
the inefficient aircraft to be grounded. There will be a least a quarter of a
century before all the planes in the sky are bigger, more fuel-efficient, and
less damaging to the atmosphere.
No-frills airlines are spreading across the
globe. With India and China only in
their infancy as far as the average person taking an international flight,
no-frills airlines are already beginning to target these gigantic markets.
There are two other huge problems on the
horizon with no-frills airlines. In a few months transatlantic routes will be
deregulated for the first time ever. The existing and new cheap airlines have
already shown a very strong interest in this new market.
Out in Malaysia,
established no-frills giant Air Asia, has teamed up with Virgin Airlines mogul
Richard Branson and are now offering flights from Southeast Asia to Australia, and in June, will begin their first
no-frills Asia to Europe flights.
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