“The industry is being increasingly challenged, particularly in Europe,” says John Strickland, an aviation consultant and former network planner at British Airways.
“It needs to shout about its value in a way that resonates, whether that’s its economic contribution or the importance of interacting with other cultures.”
Without meaningful change, some fear that young, eco-conscious travellers will shun air travel and opt for more climate-friendly options such as rail. Campaigners like Greta Thunberg have given rise to the “flight shaming” movement, which highlights the carbon footprint of air travel in an effort to shame people into finding alternative means of travel.
Strickland says: “Airline CEOs have children and grandchildren themselves, and they understand the feelings people have. Yet the industry is portrayed in some quarters as public enemy number one, as if it has no real personal interest in the future.
“The fact is that airlines don’t make planes, they don’t make engines and they don’t refine SAF. So you can understand if they are getting exasperated.”
Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss has been among the most outspoken critics of the oil industry and governments for failing to help airlines keep pace with their commitments.
Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic insists that engine makers are moving as fast as they can to build a new generation of net zero engines. The company’s proposed Ultrafan model will burn 10pc less fuel than its cleanest engine today, and all of its turbines capable of using 100pc SAF.
However, Erginbilgic warns that deriving the quantities of SAF needed from biostocks is all but impossible. Governments and energy companies should devote more attention to producing synthetic SAF using “green hydrogen” extracted from water via an electrolysis process, the Rolls chief says.