REDUCING CABIN WASTE
Interpretation
When the number of meals prepared per passengers shifts from 2 to 1.8 (Scenario 1), Air France can save $30M every year. When the number of meals prepared per passengers shifts from 2 to 1.7 (Scenario 2), Air France can save $45M every year. Finally, when the number of meals prepared per passengers shifts from 2 to 1.6 (Scenario 3), Air France can save $60M every year. Therefore, by reducing the number of meals prepared per passenger, it is obvious the direct costs of meals will be reduced. The less meals per passenger Air France will prepare, the higher the savings will be.
According to a report published by Green America in 2010, 75% of the waste generated during flights is recyclable but only 20% of this waste is recycled. Consequently, efforts should be concentrated on reducing cabin waste but also on recycling it.
Reduce airlines’ reliance on plastic during flights
Travelers are well aware of the amount of plastic used during flights: from cutlery to plastic- wrapped headsets, there are ways to reduce the use of plastic. One of the main advantages of this material is that it is very light: weight is a crucial variable for airlines as the heavier the plane is, the more fuel it consumes. Hence here are some solutions companies can easily adopt without impacting the weight of their aircrafts.
The use of plastic can be reduced in areas other than catering. Several airlines have already made steps in this direction:
● Qantas and Virgin Atlantic have decided to propose plastic-free headsets: according to Virgin Atlantic, this allows its company to avoid using 12 tons of plastic each year.
● Emirates has developed blankets made out of plastic bottles which can be recycled after use.
Plastic accounts for 39% to 64% of the weight of meals served during Egypt Air flights. Instead of using plastic cutlery or metal cutlery (for Business Class and First Class), cornstarch cutlery or bamboo cutlery could be used instead: both materials are biodegradable and recyclable without being as heavy as metal cutlery. Moreover, cornstarch cups could be used instead of plastic cups.
Airlines should also work on optimizing food packaging when serving meals (different materials and lighter packages). These solutions can easily be implemented as they do not imply a change in processes (meals and refreshments are served in the same way, with disposable cutlery). In the EU, for non EU-flights, all waste in contact with animal by-products cannot be recycled separately, bamboo and cornstarch cutlery and cups would then be processed with food waste.
This is not a problem if Category 1 waste (food waste and waste in contact with animal by- products) can be used for another purpose. The present file proposes a solution for recycling this important amount of cabin waste.
Recycling food waste: an ecological fuel
Food and materials in contact with animal by-products (cutlery, food packaging...) is, in most countries, considered as waste as soon as the plane has landed. It is hence crucial to find another use for this Cat 1. waste.
Case study: British Airways
British Airways is one of the most innovative airlines in that realm. It recently launched a program in partnership with Velocys (a British company specialized in renewable fuels) and Suez to convert household waste into an ecological and renewable fuel. This project, which has been announced in September 2017, should be completed in 2019 with the building of a power plant which will convert household waste into fuel. The material obtained should help British Airways reducing its carbon footprint as this fuel will emit 60% less greenhouse gas than a conventional fuel.
The airline had already sought renewable fuels to power its aircrafts. At beginning of the decade, it had partnered with Solena (a company specialized in green energies) for a project called Green Sky. The Green Sky project had a similar approach but unfortunately, it did not get British government’s approval in order to process waste.
Initiatives similar to British Airways’ ones exist: for instance, United Airlines has been working on a biofuel made of household waste since 2015 as well. It partnered with Fulcurm BioEnergy in order to start using this new material for commercial flights in 2018. This fuel emits 80% less greenhouse gas than conventional fuel.
These innovative solutions could go further and directly recycle cabin waste. Food which is considered as waste when the aircraft has landed could be directly converted into an environmentally-friendly fuel.
Settle a collection service for non-consumed products in the airports
The idea is to settle a partnership between the airlines and the airports within the European Union borders. Airports agree to provide an area where non-consumed food coming from planes can be sold to travelers in the airport. The airport will also provide staff to ensure the service.
The European Union regulation requires that all catering food coming from non-EU airports must be treated as a waste and therefore destroyed. Therefore, the collection service for non- consumed food can only be operational for the food coming from EU airports. Countries, which are not part of the EU but are geographically integrated to the European continent such as Norway, Liechtenstein or Iceland are considered as member states and therefore, can provide food collection service in the airports.
The collected food sale is operational in the respect of expiry date. Mostly, the idea is to ensure a turnover. The food which arrives first is sold first. It allows the collection service to optimize expiry dates management.
The collection service will be profitable for both the airport and the airline. They should settle a price for the non-consumed food that allows the airport to cover its fees and the airline to recover the money that was granted to the catering company. The negotiation of the partnership includes the settlement of the price. The collection service should generally be a non-profit one in order to get a lower price. It is obvious that the food is lower than the average price of airport food.
Summary
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Negotiate a partnership between the airport and the airlines within the European Union territory.
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The partnership contract defines the procedures for implementing the collection service: space and staff allocated, price of the products, redistribution of the benefits
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This partnership can only operate in the European Union due to the regulation. All food coming from abroad must be destroyed upon its arrival.
Example: Partnership Aeroports de Paris – AirFrance KLM
AirFrance KLM has integrated sustainability in its range of activities. Its strategy is based on 4 pillars: environment, customer experience, social policy, and local development.
Its ambition 2020 aims at reducing the environmental impact of its activities in all the ways possible. Since 2014, the group has agreed to take into account the objectives of sustainable development of the United Nations. AirFrance KLM has also signed the Caring for Climate initiative and the Charte Paris Action Climat. It is a key partner of the COP21 Climate Conference.
In the frame of the 2020 Perform plan, AirFrance has set up new objectives in order to become more sustainable. By 2020, the company aims at recycling 100% of non-hazardous waste and 60% of hazardous waste. Samely, KLM defined among its 2020 ambition its wish to achieve 100% of recycled and recovered waste.
That kind of partnership would completely match AirFrance KLM’s ambitions and would definitely be a profitable operation.
Increase the airlines’ offer by creating a complementary price
For the last few years, airlines have diversified their offering in order to offer the customer the amount of services he wants. In general, most airlines now provide 3 types of offer: the economic one, which excludes the luggage, the standard one, which includes meals and luggage, and the business class one.
We will focus on AirFrance’s offer in order to develop our other solution in order to reduce food waste in-flight.
AirFrance has 3 different offers:
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Light: the ticket is unchangeable, luggage isn’t included, there is no free access to snacks, meals or drinks
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Standard: luggage (23kg max) included, free access to snacks, meals and drinks, the ticket is changeable with fees but not refundable.
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Flex: luggage (23kg max) included, free access to snacks, meals and drinks, the ticket is refundable and changeable, no fees.
In general the price gap between the different classes varies seasonally. In low season, the standard ticket can be 50% more expensive than the light one. Whereas in high season, the standard ticket amounts to twice the price of the Light class.
When you look at these 3 different offers, you can see that there is no happy medium between the Light class and the Standard class. On one hand, you get access to nothing (no luggage, no meals, snacks or drinks) and on the other hand you get to choose between 2 meals, sweet or salty, and a great variety of snacks. The idea is to create a “sustainable” class between the two.
Example: Creation of a sustainable price
When buying the Sustainable ticket, the consumer agrees to not choosing its meals in-flight. The airline must provide the customer one or two meals according to the travel time and full access to drinkable water. It allows the airlines to reduce its food stock: they no longer have to guarantee the customer a choice between two meals. As the standard class customer chooses its meal, the sustainable class one will take the meal left by the first one. If there are more sustainable passengers that there are standard one, the company will only have to plan a single type of meal- choice.
This price can attracts a great number of customers who are ready to pay a lower price with lower choice, especially for long-haul flights. This solution is all the more interesting that, as we saw it above, international flights in Europe have the obligation to destroy any additional food left.
It’s not just a solution to lower food waste, but also to increase the offer and to adapt it to the whishes of the customers. This solution would be all the more profitable for the company that the airlines have to plan fewer meals, there is less food waste, therefore and less profit loss. More than a step towards more sustainability, it must be considered as an economic opportunity for the civil aviation market.
As it is a sustainable price, the airline should settle a price, which covers the cost of the meal consumed by the customer, and the luggage if the company decides to include it in the price. It is important to know that the customer cannot know the type of the meal (vegetarian, chicken, etc.) when buying the plane tickets. He agrees to accept whatever meal is served, according to what remains.