Many countries have set specific climate goals, and achieving those goals requires taking concrete steps to reduce emissions. Along these lines, France’s transport minister has made an eyebrow-raising proposal…
France offers lowest price for flight tickets
French Transport Minister Clément Beaune rough plan Effectively abolish ultra-cheap flights within France. The city of Beaune has proposed “setting a minimum price for airline tickets” to “combat social and environmental dumping”.
He plans to submit this proposal soon. He explains that “in the ecological transition period this is no longer possible, that a flight ticket costs him 10 euros” and that “this does not reflect the price of the planet”.
This will initially only apply to domestic flights, as it would be much more complex to implement this on international flights given the different international laws. Note that France has already recently banned many short-haul domestic flights, which can take up to 2 hours and 30 minutes by train.
It is not yet entirely clear what form this bill will take. Would airlines be able to earn higher profits if the country simply set a minimum price for airline tickets?Will the high ticket prices be incurred as a ticket tax? If so, what will that tax revenue be used for?
My thoughts on this bill proposed in France
The challenges governments face in trying to meet their goals of reducing carbon emissions are understandable. However, many governments seem to be going in the wrong direction on this and not focusing on the big picture.
First, let’s briefly explain an argument that airline executives tend to make. For example, the CEO of ultra-low-cost airline Wizz Air has argued that business class should be banned because it is bad for the environment. Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s CEO claims that selling tickets for 10 euros is irresponsible in terms of environmental impact. How convenient it is to have this perspective!
In my opinion, governments that want to reduce emissions from air travel should:
- ban or significantly restrict private jets because of their disproportionately high emissions;
- Encourage airlines to operate modern, fuel-efficient jets and operate full flights to keep emissions as low as possible per passenger.
- If additional taxes are imposed on aircraft, those taxes should not only be used to inflate government revenues, but should also be directly and transparently invested in efficient climate offset schemes.
In that sense, I think France’s proposal is a bit ridiculous. The country would essentially give pricing power to airlines like Air France, while penalizing the passengers who fly most efficiently. Additionally, the impact is extremely minor as it only applies to domestic flights within France. Considering the ban that France introduced earlier, there are already not many of them, and (given the need for further restrictions by the government) it seems that even what was intended has not been achieved.
![](https://cdn.onemileatatime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EgyptAir-Business-Class-787-85.jpeg)
conclusion
France’s transport minister has proposed a new minimum ticket price for domestic flights, insisting that 10 euro fares are “no longer possible” and that “they do not reflect global prices.” I understand the need to reduce emissions in line with France’s goals, but in my opinion this does not seem like a well-thought-out approach.
What do you think about France’s lowest ticket price proposal?