The CEO of Canada's second-largest airline says the global push to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050 will lead to a major increase in ticket prices unless governments step in to offer support. A WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 twin-engined turboprop aircraft is prepared for a flight in Kamloops, Saturday, June 3, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – The CEO of Canada’s second-largest airline says the global push to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050 will lead to a major increase in ticket prices unless governments step in to offer support.
Alexis von Hoensbroech, the CEO of Calgary-based WestJet, made the comments at the 24th World Petroleum Congress, a major international oil-and-gas conference being held in that city this week.
Von Hoensbroech says WestJet is the single biggest consumer of petroleum products in the oil-producing province of Alberta, spending upwards of $1 billion annually on jet fuel.
He says the airline is investing in newer and more efficient planes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
But he says what the industry really needs is financial and regulatory support to spur the use of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF.
SAF is an industry term for low-carbon fuel made from renewable materials instead of petroleum, but it is currently five times as expensive as traditional jet fuel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2023.
