Three out of ten people would be put off flying to and from France if a new
‘green tax’ on low-cost airlines was imposed, a survey by the online
magazine website FrenchEntre.com has found.The poll also reveals when it comes to using low-cost airlines such as
Ryanair, easyJet or Flybe, the impact on people’s pockets is a far bigger
potential deterrent than concerns about the environment. Only 16% of those
asked would be less likely to fly to France simply because of fears about
the impact on global warming.

Moreover, the survey shows that most French home owners and visitors will
stick with low-cost flights regardless, seventy-nine per cent (79%) said
the possible environmental impact would not stop them using low-cost
airlines; while sixty-one percent (61%) would not change their plans even
if there was a green tax.

When asked how they would travel if they did not go by plane, 78%  of the
1,069 who took part said they would use a car to go to and from France.
Only 16% said they would take the more environmentally-friendly option of a
train.

Today, there are more than 100 different flight routes to France from the
UK - as FrenchEntre.com’s new interactive flight map - shows. This
expansion has had a considerable influence on Britons buying a house in
France. Of those surveyed by FrenchEntre.com the majority - 69% - own a
second home in France or live in the country permanently.  And for 67% of
them, a property’s proximity to a regional airport was very important to
them. Forty per cent (40%) bought their home because it was near a regional
airport.

Thirteen per cent (13%) of those surveyed do not own a home in France but
are likely to holiday there. Of these only 3% were less likely to holiday
in France because of concerns over global warming. However, 18% would be
less likely to if there was an added green tax.

‘Given the constant publicity given to the impact of low-cost flights on
the environment, it is interesting to see that it has so little effect on
people’s travel plans, and that it is the age-old issue of money that talks
loudest,’ says Michael Streeter, Property Editor of FrenchEntr?e.com.  ‘But
what comes out most strongly is that for the vast majority, the joys of la
belle vie in France overcome any concerns about extra taxes or global
warming.’
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