Am slightly suprised that this has not already been mentioned (if it has, I apologise), but there was a report in The Times on Wednesday to say that MEPs voted in favour of a ‘green tax’ on aviation, and it was thought that the charge could be as high as £40 per passenger. However, airlines have already critisised the plans because they said that it is not really going to reduce the number of people flying.
So, I had a bit of a heated discussion with my father, and I said that I thought it was a bit unfair to target one particular industry when there are a plenty of others out there that are having the same (if not worse) impact on the environment. I was hoping that we might be able to have a bit of discussion/debate on here, in particular focussing on the following questions, but please try to answer as fully as you can, as it will be interesting to hear what you have got to say.
1. What is people’s opinion on the impact of aviation on the environment?
2. Do you think it about that much when you are flying?
3. Would you be prepared to pay up to £40 extra?
4. Do you think this extra money should be spent on developing better aircraft or improving airports?
All answers/opinions welcomed.
By: Skymonster - 8th July 2006 at 14:51
Fuel levy’s are in place to compensate airlines for the rising cost of oil though, not as a tax for the impact on environment. Some airlines absorb the cost of the rising increase, such as Ryanair who gaurantee its passengers they will not introduce a fuel surcharge, where as others such as BA and Virgin charge up to £70 return. The ‘green tax’, if implemented, would be an additional cost to add on top of any other surcharges.
Firstly, Ryanair – you’ve been sucked in my their rhetoric. All that is happened is that Ryanair don’t seperate out the extra cost of fuel in their pricing. Their minimum “headline” fares may remain low, but as they don’t publish fares all they need to do is hike the prices they are charging in any given instance. I’ll bet Ryanair’s average fares are higher now than they were before oil started going up, to compensate. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised the Big Chief of TinkersAir hasn’t had anything to say about the proposed tax – the Orange one’s actually put out quite a reasonable statement.
As far as the tax itseft is concerned, its fair that air travellers pay if it is used to combat emissions and the impact of aviation on the environment. If it just another tax that goes into Gordon Brown’s coffers and serves no useful effect on the environment other than directly as a result of its application inhibiting growth, then its contemptable.
Andy
By: HP81 - 8th July 2006 at 13:31
I dont think it’s unfair, aviation must be one of the only industries not paying tax on fuel.
S.B.
By: cloud_9 - 7th July 2006 at 19:14
We already have fuel levy’s they can ******* off. Its them lot who fly private jets about aint it.
Fuel levy’s are in place to compensate airlines for the rising cost of oil though, not as a tax for the impact on environment. Some airlines absorb the cost of the rising increase, such as Ryanair who gaurantee its passengers they will not introduce a fuel surcharge, where as others such as BA and Virgin charge up to £70 return. The ‘green tax’, if implemented, would be an additional cost to add on top of any other surcharges.
I am not sure where the tax would be applied to, but as I said in my initial post it does seem unreasonable to charge one industry when others are having the same impact. Look at the number of cars on the road with only 1 person in them, which is why I think that if any kind of ‘green’ tax is to be introduced, it should be on road users.
By: tommyinyork - 7th July 2006 at 19:06
We already have fuel levy’s they can ******* off. Its them lot who fly private jets about aint it.
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July 7, 2006 at 3:59 pm