If employees nevertheless have to travel, the train is more often preferred, says Bontes van Deloitte: “It is no longer allowed to fly to Brussels, Düsseldorf, Paris or London within our company. The plane only comes into the picture when the travel distance is more than 700 kilometers or if the journey is extremely time consuming.”
Flying more sustainably
When there is still flying, is more often chosen economy classcontinues Bontes: “For one seat in the business class you can put three regular chairs. That way more people can fit on the plane.”
PwC provides insight into CO2 data, so that employees and customers will fly less, explains sustainability director Wineke Haagsma: “They can see exactly how much CO2 can be emitted per trip, depending on how many people are traveling, what the mode of transport is and whether there business of economy is flown. This certainly has an effect on travel choices.”
Physical contact
But in many cases, travel is still necessary, according to ASML’s Mols: “Physical contact is sometimes unavoidable, if a customer’s machine has to be made working, for example, or if we have to give a presentation to a CEO of an important customer. “
Insurer ASR also says that not all business air travel can be replaced by train. “There are cases in which the train takes too much time, as a result of which our employees do not remain fit enough or it is impossible to plan multiple appointments in one day. There is of course no train to a destination such as America,” said spokesman Jordi van Baardewijk.
Uncertain future for Air France-KLM
“There may be segments that travel less”, says KLM director Pieter Elbers, “but different types of travelers are returning to this. According to Elbers, a larger number of leisure travelers also opt for more space and privacy in the business class.
The reduction in business passengers will indeed be partly offset by organic growth, expects aviation economist De Haan. “Because aviation is still growing. There is a lot of demand in prosperous countries.” But it is uncertain to what extent that growth can be achieved, in view of all the environmental problems around Schiphol, De Haan acknowledges
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