BA boss questions flying motives

Mr Walsh predicts less CO2 from aviation by 2050

"I don't believe people fly because they like the idea of flying, particularly business people," British Airways boss Willie Walsh has said.

His comments came in a BBC interview about the environmental challenges facing aviation.

The airline industry usually stresses the luxury of its service rather than saying that people only fly because they have to.

BA has just launched a business class only flight from London to New York.

The flights from London City Airport cost £5,300 for a flexible return and only carry 32 passengers.

Mr Walsh did confirm that carbon emissions per passenger kilometre would be higher on this service than on a 747 from Heathrow.

But he described accusations that BA was trying to undermine the move to video-conferencing as "absolute rubbish", saying his company welcomed more business people using such technology.

He added that he used it and so did many of his existing customers.

He also said that by 2050 he believed "personally that the absolute CO2 emissions, the gross CO2 emissions [from aviation] will be less".

This contrasts starkly with the prediction from the International Panel on Climate Change that there would be about four times more carbon dioxide coming from planes by the same date.

Costing the earth on BBC Radio 4, Monday at 2100 BST, repeated Thursday at 1330