Airlines cut packaging and paperwork to lose weight and reduce fuel

The Australian asks does your fork feel a little short, your plate a bit flimsy, and is the sachet of sugar for your cup of tea rather smaller than usual?

You may be enjoying the latest in-flight eating experience as a growing number of airlines try every tactic to lighten their load and reduce their fuel bills.

In an industry where every gram counts, carriers are adopting increasingly innovative measures to decrease weight to help to combat the fuel burden that has already led them to cut routes and ground aircraft.

British Airways is reducing the weight of passenger meals, replacing catering trolleys and scrapping cabin-crew paperwork. Others are removing earplugs, cutting back on sachets and even shaving millimetres off cutlery.

Virgin Atlantic, for example, is reducing the weight of meals by cutting down on packaging. It has already removed the cling film from bread rolls and eventually wants to develop a package-less meal.

Further afield, airlines are putting fewer pages in their in-flight magazines, making seats lighter and even replacing plastic drink stirrers with paper alternatives.

Emirates is looking to replace all in-flight printed material with on-screen electronic information.

All Nippon Airways has introduced lighter porcelain for first and business classes and Japan Airlines has slimmed down the handles of its forks and spoons, reducing their weight by 2g each.

BA spends more than pound stg. 8 million ($17 million) a day on fuel and this year its fuel bill will be well over pound stg. 3 billion. On a typical long-haul flight, catering equipment and food weighs six tonnes. A spokesman for BA said fuel costs were a massive consideration when looking at ways to make its aircraft lighter.

“We have already reduced the amount of potable water we have in our on-board tanks and we have replaced our catering trolleys with lightweight versions,” he said.

“We are reviewing our catering and looking at how much it weighs (which includes cutlery, crockery and storage items) and looking at how much meals weigh.

“We are also looking to remove redundant equipment such as kitchen equipment that is not absolutely essential. And we are moving on-board paperwork (used by the flight crew) to an electronic version.

“Airlines are having to look at absolutely everything. At some point in the future our in-flight magazines could be electronic.”

BA said it would not be changing its menus.

ANA said its new seat frames were made of carbon fibre, making them 5 per cent lighter than those made from aluminium. This means that a typical aircraft will use 40,000 litres less fuel each year.

The airline has also stopped giving sugar sachets to customers as part of the cutlery set. Now they are provided on request.

Japan Airlines says that it can make aircraft 23kg lighter by reducing the number of newspapers and magazines carried on international flights. It has also suspended beer sales on domestic flights in economy and business class.

For a 625g weight reduction, the number of paper cups has been reduced by 125 on each aircraft. On other aircraft, the airline has cut the number of 5g earplug sets.

Some airlines have exchanged large bottles of spirits for medium-sized ones, and others are washing engines to remove soot deposits, which impede engine efficiency. This can save 17,000 kilolitres of fuel each year.

Paul Charles, spokesman for Virgin Atlantic, said: “We are starting to remove food packaging and trying to find ways to serve meals without packaging.

“When you add it all up for every flight each year, it does matter.

“Basically, you need less fuel to power a flight if it is lighter. It works wonders.”

“We already have lighter seat fittings and lighter cargo bins. You can make thousands of tonnes of weight savings on each plane each year.”  

A Report by The Moel from The Australian