Operational practices offer fastest decarbonisation wins for airlines: report

Low-cost airlines have higher maturity in applying both basic and advanced best practices.

Operational practices were identified as levers with the highest potential for rapid decarbonisation gains in the short term in the aviation industry, according to a Roland Berger report.

The report assesses and compares four near-term levers, such as fleet efficiency, operational practices, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), and innovation.

Across all four levers, low-cost airlines are the most mature airline type. In fleet efficiency, low-cost carriers scored the highest at 48 out of 100, driven by their average fleet age of 10 years, compared to 12 for legacy airlines and 23 for cargo airlines.

Newer aircraft showed up to 50% lower fuel burn per seat than 1980s models. Meanwhile, cargo airlines performed the worst, scoring just 21.

For operational practices, low-cost airlines again demonstrated higher maturity in applying both basic and advanced best practices.

The report notes that 85% of airlines still lack a structured fuel efficiency solution, though substantial carbon reductions can be achieved immediately if all airlines use artificial intelligence to enhance operational efficiency.

Moreover, SAF and innovation maturity levels remain low across all regions. SAF's impact is expected to remain modest until 2030 due to high costs and limited supply.