Lufthansa rebranding of environmental fares

Lufthansa Group has rebranded its “Green Fares,” a product introduced in 2023, to “Impact Fares.” This change follows legal challenges from the environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe and aligns with the European Union’s Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT), which seeks to prevent greenwashing by banning generic environmental claims.

Court rulings in Cologne determined that previous branding could mislead passengers into believing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) would be used on their specific flights rather than elsewhere in the airline’s operations. Under the new “Impact Fares” structure, the airline commits to using additional SAF within six months of a booking’s departure.

For European flights, the SAF contribution covers 20% of estimated CO2 emissions, with 80% directed toward climate protection projects. For intercontinental routes, the split is 10% SAF and 90% climate projects. While the name has changed, the pricing and structure remain the same, and passengers continue to receive benefits such as additional miles and status points.