Will Recession Result in Airline Environmental Gains?

As fuel prices climb and the U.S. economy stands on the edge of recession, the U.S. airline industry is cutting back on domestic flights. According to a report from Reuters, major airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest and Delta have already publicized plans to decrease their domestic networks.

Local routes have always been considered a poor bet, from an environmental perspective. For one, domestic travel is less efficient and more expensive than longer international flights. Factor in recent recession forecasts, ever-rising fuel prices, and vacancies — many airlines have no choice but to trim schedules.

Such cutbacks, however, could end up having positive effects for environmental policy. In December, California’s attorney general Jerry Brown and various environmental groups demanded that the EPA recalibrate its commitment to climate change and impose limits on air travel emissions. Unwelcome flight cutbacks may ultimately be more effective than Brown's demands, caught in webs of bureaucracy as they are, in encouraging the airline industry to develop a long-overdue approach to revolutionize jet fuel efficiency.

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