It’s Time Video Killed Business Class Travel
The airline industry still dreaming about phoney low-carbon fuels. Instead it should seize the opportunity of video-conferencing to produce real change, says Simon Perry
For the airline industry to meet the goals the European Commission (and others) have set for it, we therefore ought to be looking to shape the industry such that the focus is on the reduction of passenger numbers to the degree necessary to bring the industry’s emissions down to the target levels. Reducing passenger numbers will only be achieved by the provision of alternatives by way of alternate transport infrastructure, as well as ICT based technologies that provide the means for highly effective human communication across distances.
Video conferencing makes a viable alternative to business flying – that much is now clear even to IATA. Indeed, the organisation not only reports the pain of video conferencing’s influence on revenue, it also calls itself for it use. The Terms of Reference for IATA’s “Aviation fuel data standards group” states that “Interim Meetings (of the group) may be held by telephone or video conference, or such other appropriate means that IATA may decide.”
Political will required
Whether the political will exists to shape the airline industry to such a degree remains in doubt, even though such efforts would uniquely allow the industry to meet its emissions targets. According to the industry’s own representative body, reducing passenger numbers is the most effective strategy to keep airline emissions below 2005 baseline levels. Video conferencing ought to be strongly considered and encouraged in order to provide a useful alternative to face-to-face business meetings. In the future, airline industry total carrying capacity should only be allowed to increase further if future technology innovation (including low-carbon fuel sources) becomes available, providing headroom for growth decoupled from net emissions increases.
Meanwhile it is also worth remembering the music industry’s failure to grasp the opportunity provided by digital content. Perhaps the most important question for the airline industry is really whether it can figure out a way to embrace the promise of video conferencing in a novel way such that its use becomes a strategic element of its strategy, rather than a threat.
Simon Perry is a principal associate analyst at Quocirca, specialising in the implications of environmental sustainability on business models.
