Possible Future - Removing In-flight Single-Use Plastics

Possible Future — In-flight single-use plastics 1
From take-off
to landing,
saying
goodbye to
single-use
plastics
What is the evolution of the flight
experience, dominated by the
ubiquity of single-use plastic?

t is difficult to separate a passenger’s
current in-flight experience from the
seemingly never-ending onslaught of
single-use plastics. From the rapid
tearing of the plastic bags to free blankets
and earphones during take-off, to the
assorted plates, cups, cutlery that are
presented during meal-time and snack-
time, what is left in the cabin after a flight
is a dismal assemblage of materials that is
often sent straight to landfill.
Just as other industries (food, cosmetics,
hospitality) are taking measures against
the serious environmental impact of
single-use plastics, the aviation sector is
beginning to mobilize as well. However,
faced with a complex ecosystem of
airlines, airports, catering services,
suppliers, and regulations that vary across
regions, changes with real impact can be
difficult to implement.
Through this exploration, we will:
1. Convey the urgency of the plastics issue
for the aviation industry and confront the
difficulties in enacting change ;
2. Study solutions that we think represent
the first incremental efforts to combat
single-use plastic, explore more far-
reaching, impactful strategies that require
large-scale infrastructure updates, and
even go so far as to completely re-think
the consumer’s in-flight experience.
We hope to show that while the challenges
of eliminating single-use plastics from the
flight industry can be complicated and
immense, they are not insurmountable.
PREAMBLE
I

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Table of Contents 3
I. Plastic overdose is plaguing the aviation industry 5
A. The omnipresence of single-use plastics on flights 5
Air traffic is rising and along with it, the plastic waste it produces 5
B. Strong expectations and cultural habits around food on flights 6
In-flight meals are part of the air travel experience for the passengers 6
In-flight meals have become a real marketing tool for airlines 7
C. A complex ecosystem with multiple players 8
Lack of global implementation makes the recovery of plastics almost impossible 8
Differences in catering models and the complexity of the logistic chain 9
D. The flight industry is feeling the pressure to change 10
Consumer expectations are changing 10
Regulatory pressure is mounting 11
II. How industries are currently addressing the challenge 14
A. Substitution with alternate materials, a small first step for a big issue 14
Recyclable, biodegradable and compostable materials 14
Replacement solutions : tackling a consequence, and not the inner cause 17
B. Bring-your-own 17
Passengers have a role to play 17
Incentivizing participants 17
C. Reuse, not recycle 18
Close the loop 18
Plastic material does not have to be the enemy 18
Major infrastructure changes are necessary 19
III. It is time to rethink the entire in-flight eating experience 21
Breaking away from the traditional restaurant-style meal 21
Everything is edible 22
Rethinking containers can also lead to designing new usages 22
The sensory experience 23
Fasting while flying 25
IV. Conclusion 27
Who are we ? 28
A. A cross-sector perspective to identify great opportunities 28
B. A multidisciplinary team to cover all aspects of the project 29
C. Our methodology 29

PART I : THE CHALLENGE

I. PLASTIC
OVERDOSE IS
PLAGUING THE
AVIATION INDUSTRY
A. THE OMNIPRESENCE OF
SINGLE-USE PLASTICS ON
FLIGHTS
AIR TRAFFIC IS RISING AND ALONG
WITH IT, THE PLASTIC WASTE IT
PRODUCES
In 2018, airlines transported 4.3 billion
passengers across the globe, a 100%
increase from 2006. And according to
Boeing and Airbus, this number will double
again by 2037, resulting in more than 8
billion passengers transported per year .1
This large industry growth, however,
comes at a cost: more passengers and
more flights mean more carbon emissions,
more complex logistics challenges, and
bigger space and waste management
issues.
Airline passengers generated
6.1 million tons of waste in
2018. That’s the weight of
about 2.6 millions cars.
IATA
In fact, a passenger today produces an
average of 1.4 kg of waste per flight .2
Multiplied by the number of passenger
trips taken globally, airline passengers
alone generated a whopping 6.1 million
tons of waste in 2018, most of which went
to landfills or incinerators that release tons
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere .3
Unfortunately, it’s a figure that is set to
double over the next 15 years as a result of
industry growth.
Most of this waste is composed of paper,
cardboard, plastic, aluminium and food
waste. Single-use plastics are particularly
pervasive on flights, from the thin plastic
packaging for sleep items (pillow, blanket,
pyjamas), to the headphones and the
toiletries (Q-tip, cotton, toothbrush,
cream...). What stands out the most,
however, is the plastic used during meal
and drink services.
https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2018-10-24-02.aspx1
According to to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an industry trade group of some 290 air2 -
lines
According to to the IATA (https://www.iata.org/pressroom/media-kit/Documents/environment-presentation-3
agm2019.pdf)

Almost 80% of all food and
drinks served in flight use
single-use plastics
Apex Aero
Take a standard airplane lunch : the food is
served in plastic containers, each wrapped
in plastic and all sitting on a plastic tray.
The butter is wrapped in plastic. The fork
and knife are both made of plastic and
wrapped in plastic. You drink water out of
a plastic cup, which was just poured out of
a plastic bottle. You can’t eat or drink
anything on a plane without using some
form of single-use plastic.
The reason why plastic packaging is so
ubiquitous is because it is cheap, weight-
efficient, and useful (for maintaining food
freshness and hygiene, for example). It also
simplifies things for the flight crew, who
can easily inspect the contents and swap
items if needed. Single-use food service
items reduce onboard weight while
keeping the logistical choreography of
collecting, washing, and sanitizing dish-
ware to a minimum.
The amount of waste produced varies
significantly with the length of the flight.
For short-haul flights, airlines tend to favor
snacks or pay-in-flight meals. But on
longer flights, more meals and drinks are
offered to passengers, generating more
plastic waste. During the course of a long-
haul Air France flight, for example, each
passenger uses on average 7 plastic cups .4
Why are in-flight meals and drinks so
important in the first place, though? Why
are they so deeply engrained in customer’s
perceptions of flying?
B. STRONG EXPECTATIONS
AND CULTURAL HABITS
AROUND FOOD ON FLIGHTS
IN-FLIGHT MEALS ARE PART OF THE
AIR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE FOR THE
PASSENGERS
Since the first time an airline meal was
ever served in 1919 on a route from London
to Paris, eating on flights has been a
widely accepted and expected practice.
Meals can range from a simple snack or
beverage in a short-haul economy class
flight to a seven-course gourmet meal in a
long-haul first-class flight. Regardless of its
format, though, meal-time is often an
indispensable part of the flight for the
passenger.
More than just satisfying one of our most
basic needs, in-flight meals can also be
serving a cultural experience. In-flight
meals often feature local foods and local
flavors, which can remind passengers of
their trip. Despite the possibility of
disliking what they are receiving,
passengers prefer to eat rather than risk
being hungry for hours.
Second, eating and drinking also breaks
up the monotony of the flight - it can
make the flight feel shorter, while also
taking passengers’ minds off of more
uncomfortable elements of the flight
experience, like limited legroom or
uncomfortable seats. Meals typically occur
at predictable times during flights, and so
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/aeronautique/transport-aerien-5-millions-de-dechets-produits-par-les-4
passagers_3494789.html

can be used to break the flight up into
manageable periods.
Meal time has always been associated with
social interaction, and on an airplane is no
different. Passengers are able to choose
their own meal and then express their
pleasure or disappointment to their
neighbors.
For all these reasons, in-flight meals are
deeply-rooted in the air travel experience
and are greatly appreciated. The aim is not
only to satisfy one's appetite but to offer
an experience around food. The flight is
often the first or last step of a journey and
is part of the complete traveling
experience.
In that vein, passengers have been
increasingly raising their expectations
around in-flight meals, demanding more
from an industry that has typically been
associated with low quality and bad food.
Consumers are becoming more aware of
the importance of nutrition and are
demanding more healthy in-flight snacks
and meals as a result. As a flying “hack”,
passengers now prefer ordering special
meals (“with dietary restrictions”) since
they are produced closer to the time of
take-off, ensuring that they are fresher and
closer to the airline chef’s original vision
for the menu . A menu with diverse5
options that changes from flight to flight is
expected more and more as well,
particularly by frequent business flyers.
"We change our menus every
month, so annually there are
7,000 different menu items.
We have 254 different soups
in first class alone."
Emirates, 2016
IN-FLIGHT MEALS HAVE BECOME A
REAL MARKETING TOOL FOR AIRLINES
From the airlines’ perspective, food can be
one of the biggest differentiation
strategies: the in-flight meal is one of the
key pillars in a customer’s relationship with
an airline. For better or worse, the snacks
and meals are very memorable
components of their experience on board
and as a result, passengers associate these
memories with the airline they flew on. For
this reason, photos and reviews of in-flight
meals are frequently mentioned by travel
influencers and travel blogs. British
Some airlines provide special tags to pas-
sengers who want to be woken up for meal
services, whereas other passengers find
more creative ways to get their food.
https://fortune.com/longform/airlines-in-flight-meals/5

Airways announced that “25% of the
consumer buying decision is now based on
brand and not schedule / price” , which6
suggests that elements such as food that
reflect the brand can impact business. The
quality of the food, and more broadly the
experience of the on-board service, play
an integral part in a customer’s decision to
fly again with that airline.
In 2018, Emirates invested
more than one billion dollars
into the 110 millions meals
they served.
Delish, 2019
However, serving food is a huge logistical
challenge for flight staff: it takes time to
serve each passenger and even more time
to clean (throwing away packaging, taking
back cups and trays, etc). With airlines
constantly trying to maximize revenue-
generating time in air by reducing
turnaround time on the ground, the clean-
up crew is left with little time to clean and
prepare the plane for the next flight.
British Airways turnarounds, for instance,
typically take between 50 and 60 minutes
on short-haul flights . With such a short7
period of time to clean the plane, bending
over to collect every single piece of plastic
on the floor, under the seats, and inside
the back-seat pockets only makes the job
that much more difficult for the crew.
C. A COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM
WITH MULTIPLE PLAYERS
LACK OF GLOBAL IMPLEMENTATION
MAKES THE RECOVERY OF PLASTICS
ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
It is important to note that the use of
single-use plastics is not limited to just the
airlines alone. Behind the scenes, there is a
complex catering logistic chain of actors
who need to work closely together in
order to address this problem.
Although much of the single-use plastic on
planes can be recycled, most will end up in
landfills or incinerators. One of the biggest
problems is the lack of standardized waste
management practices between the
different actors and stakeholders (country
governments, airports, airlines, caterers,
etc).
First, when collecting and sorting the
waste, cabin crews frequently throw
recyclable and non-recyclable material into
the same bag. Correctly identifying
recyclable and non-recyclable materials is
not a difficult task on its own, but when
you consider that the crew is under
significant time pressure and has limited
space and equipment, and also has to
correctly classify which materials should
be collected together and which ones
need to stay separated, the task becomes
very challenging to do properly.
Once the waste is collected, there is a lack
of airport facilities that can handle mixed
materials, although facilities for separate
recyclables have been available for some
https://viewfromthewing.com/finally-proof-that-customers-make-decisions-on-brand-not-just-schedule-and-6
price/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/plane-turnaround-procedures/7

time . In addition, there are regulatory8
differences between geographic locations
that add complexity to the process. A
great example is how waste is classified by
origin and use. Catering waste coming
from outside the European Union is
considered to be "Category 1" waste by EU
countries and is deemed to be "very high
risk material” due to its classification as an
animal by-product . As a result, Cat. 19
waste is subject to much stricter
regulations: Regulation EC 1069/2009
states that the management of this waste
is restricted to landfilling, which means
that all single-use dining-related plastic
used on flights originating from outside
the EU is sent to the landfill. Furthermore,
each country / region has its own set of
regulations, facilities and ecosystem when
it comes to recycling. For plastic, the
“likelihood of being recycled often boils
down to the resin identification code…and
even then, processing facilities can have
divergent policies” . Even between10
neighbouring cities such as San Francisco
and Oakland, recycling policies differ.
DIFFERENCES IN CATERING MODELS
AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE
LOGISTIC CHAIN
There are 5 major players that form the
catering logistic chain: the airlines, the
caterers (providers), the suppliers
(manufacturers), the distributors, and
finally the passengers.
Each airline chooses the type and quantity
of food service they need for each one of
their flights. They also decide whether to
operate their own catering operation or to
contract this out to an external caterer.
This decision is based upon a variety of
factors, such as location, availability,
reliability, relationship history, cost and
convenience.
When it comes to catering, again there
lacks a global, standardized system. There
are 3 general models :11
1. Airlines take responsibility for
determining strategy by designing or
selecting offers, and then contract out to
caterers, who are responsible for the
execution of the airline’s plan in terms of
storage, inventory control, preparation,
assembly, loading/unloading, recycling and
waste disposal. Caterers then purchase
from their suppliers the raw materials,
components and items to fulfill the airline’s
demands. This model is common in North
America.
2. A different model applies for the supply
of retail items, such as alcoholic beverages,
soft drinks and duty free goods. In this
case, airlines work directly with suppliers.
This supply chain model specifically for the
https://www.sustainableaviation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Aircraft-Cabin-Waste-Recycling-8
Guide1.pdf
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/animal-product-categories9
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/7/9/20680969/airplanes-plastic-zero-waste-flights10
http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2200/2/E66589A3.pdf11

catering of retail items on flights is used
not only in North America but also in
Europe.
3. Lastly, many airlines (commonly
European, Middle Eastern and Asian) do
not rely on contracted caterers but instead
own and operate their own flight kitchens.
Clearly, the challenge of reducing single-
use plastic on flights is not one that
airlines can tackle on their own. It is a
problem that involves many parts of the
logistics chain, and finding a solution
requires the participation of the caterers
and suppliers. Implementing strategies
that abolish or replace single-use plastics
is becoming a strong differentiator for
caterers and suppliers who want to stay
ahead of the rising focus on sustainability.
D. THE FLIGHT INDUSTRY IS
FEELING THE PRESSURE TO
CHANGE
CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS ARE
CHANGING
Whether in-flight or not, single-use plastics
are omnipresent in consumer lives, and the
public continues to draw attention to the
issue. Tweets about plastic waste doubled
from 2017 to 2018 , and the successful use12
of popular media to highlight the issue, like
Blue Planet 2, has inspired conversation
and a resounding demand for change. In
one study by Dalhousie University, “more
than 93% of Canadians are motivated to
reduce their use of single-use plastic food
packaging due to its environmental
impacts” . The same study found that13
“Millennials and Gen Zs are ‘generally more
mindful’ of single-use plastics than older
generations”. This insight has major impact
on the travel industry since “Millennials
and Gen Z form the largest cohort of
today’s new travellers” according to14
Expedia Group Media Solutions.
Furthermore, 44% of Millennials say they
use their purchasing power to promote
innovative, socially-responsible brands .15
One of the best examples of the type of
power consumers can have is the
popularization of “Green guilt” and
“flygskam” (inspired by environmental
activist Greta Thunberg), in which guilty
sentiments about air travel have become
viral amongst air travel consumers. In light
of the immense amount of carbon
emissions from flying, activists are
promoting other environmentally-friendly
transport options, such as the train.
Flygskam : the trending
Swedish term for “flight
shame”
Independent, 2019
As a result, companies such as Swedavia
AB, which operates 10 Swedish airports,
are feeling the pressure from the shifting
sentiment towards flying. Passenger
numbers at Swedavia's airports declined
for seven months in a row starting in
https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/react-plastic-data/12
http://strategyonline.ca/2019/06/07/how-do-consumers-feel-about-single-use-plastic/13
https://blog.advertising.expedia.com/millennials_sustainability14
https://viewfromthewing.com/why-passengers-are-increasingly-choosing-airlines-based-on-more-than-just-15
schedule-and-price/

September 2018, while at the same time
"state train operator SJ jumped to a record
32 million last year due to ‘the big interest
in climate-smart travel’”. In the same way16
that passengers are becoming more aware
of the environmental impact of fossil fuel-
burning jet engines, their attention is also
turning to other parts of their travel
experience that impact the environment,
namely their in-flight usage of single-use
plastic, a material that requires fossil fuels
to produce and never degrades.
REGULATORY PRESSURE IS MOUNTING
While consumers are becoming
increasingly sensitive to single-use plastics
and adjusting their own behaviors
accordingly, governments and regulation
are also beginning to respond to the
environmental concerns and applying
pressure on corporations. In the UK, “two
thirds of Brits think companies should be
required by law to produce eco-friendly
packaging even if prices go up” .17
As a result of the worsening environmental
situation and strengthening public
demands around plastic, “earlier this year,
the European Parliament voted in favour of
banning the 10 most used single-use
plastic products by 2021” . In fact, many18
countries around the world have enacted
one type of ban or another on single-use
plastic products such as plates, cups,
straws, or packaging.
27 countries have enacted
some type of ban on other
single-use plastics like plates,
cups, straws, or packaging
United Nations, 2019
Further scrutiny has been placed on the
flight industry in particular, as reflected in
the creation of an eco-tax that France will
start implementing in 2020 on all
passenger fares leaving the country.
Regarding the more specific topic of
single-use plastics in the flight industry,
Pakistan has taken one of the strongest
stances so far by banning plastic cutlery
on flights arriving in Pakistan, notifying the
18 affected international airlines that even
“the use of polyethylene bags to package
eco-friendly alternatives will now also be
prohibited” .19
Swedavia Airports report seven consecutive
months of declining year-on-year passenger
numbers
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-14/as-flying-shame-grips-sweden-sas-ups-stakes-in-cli16 -
mate-battle
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/articles-reports/2019/04/19/most-brits-support-ban-harmful-plastic-17
packaging
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20181018IPR16524/plastic-oceans-meps-back-eu-ban-on-18
throwaway-plastics-by-2021
https://simpleflying.com/pakistan-bans-plastic-cutlery/19

These types of new demands and
regulations by governing bodies and
policy makers are forcing the ﬂight sector
to reshape itself, and quickly. In response,
many airlines and airports have already
started to adapt and launch new initiatives.

PART II : THE EXISTING
SOLUTIONS

II. HOW INDUSTRIES
ARE CURRENTLY
ADDRESSING THE
CHALLENGE
First steps have been taken in terms of
recycling in-flight, something which is
actually not widely done today. Airbus, the
French airplane manufacturer, has recently
been working with Brazilian students
through its Corporate Innovation
department (the “Fly your ideas”
challenge) on a new type of trolley to
more easily sort different waste materials
in-flight. With customizable compartments
and configurations, it can be adapted to
the needs of different airlines and different
catering options. If the trolley can
successfully sort the different materials
that are collected down the aisle (liquids,
plastics, papers) and also compress them,
it will be an important first step. But in
terms of the bigger picture it still
represents just a first small step. If
recycling facilities are not available at
airports, then this stand-alone solution is
fairly limited in its impact. Moreover,
recycling is effective at reducing the
environmental impact of the waste we’ve
already generated, but it is not at all a
solution for reducing the waste generated
to begin with by using single-use plastics
and materials during a flight.
Only 9% of plastic in the US is
actually recycled
EPA’s Facts and Figures Report , 2015
Many initiatives and strategies that aim to
tackle the waste issue are being launched.
For example, the San Francisco Airport
has set the ambitious goal of becoming a
zero-waste facility by 2021. Towards that
end, they have already banned plastic
bottles and have started setting up
infrastructure for composting and
recycling in order to achieve their recycling
rate goals of up to 90% for the upcoming
years. SFO would be the ideal airport for
in-flight recycling solutions such as the
Retrolley, but unfortunately, airports like
SFO remain the exception in the United
States. A long-term, orchestrated effort is
required to adopt these solutions on a
broader scale and increase their collective
impact.
A. SUBSTITUTION WITH
ALTERNATE MATERIALS, A
SMALL FIRST STEP  
FOR A BIG ISSUE
RECYCLABLE, BIODEGRADABLE AND
COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS
The advanced research around
biomaterials combined with the negative
perception of plastic (plastic war) has led
The Retrolley, a recycling trolley proto-
typed by Airbus, sorts out different waste
and compacts them while walking down
the aisle

to an explosion in the development of new
materials. Materials often claim to be bio-
sourced, biodegradable, and compostable,
but both consumers and professionals
alike lack the understanding of what these
terms actually mean.
There is a common and misleading
perception around the word
“biodegradability”, for example, with
people mistakenly thinking that
biodegradable materials are suitable for
the planet and don’t threaten bio-diversity.
The term biodegradable is associated with
the notion of being naturally degradable,
without people questioning the time
needed to actually degrade the materials
in nature. PLA, a corn-starch-based
material that was one of the first
bioplastics and is one of the most green
ones, does indeed present no direct
chemical danger for the environment and
is considered to be compostable and
biodegradable thanks to its plant-based
origin. However, it is key to keep in mind
how long it actually takes to decompose:
in nature, PLA plastics will only disappear
after 4 years. PLA remains an acceptable
material for many purposes as it does
degrade faster in industrial composting
conditions (47 days). Although bio-
plastics use renewable resources unlike
traditional polymers that rely on fossil
fuels, the many misleading perceptions of
their impact on the environment can
actually cause us to contradict our urge to
produce less waste. Many bio-plastics
benefit (and suffer) from similar properties
as PLA, with degradation times that
remain quite long. If not properly
addressed and corrected, misperceptions
about bio-plastics and particularly the lack
of awareness about their degradation
times can lead to a mentality of “problem
solved”, resulting in a potential increase in
plastic (bio-plastic or not) waste
generated.
The type of question we now need to ask
ourselves: Is a month and a half actually a
suitable degradation time for a cup or
spoon that is used for 10 mins or less?
Promising new food-safe materials include
casein plastics, plastics that are made out
of milk casein protein and that have much
shorter life-spans, degradation times, and
are even edible.
A lot of waste from agricultural
production, such as sunflowers, algae, rice
husk, wheat bran, and coffee beans, can
be used to make promising materials. More
recently, even animal-based products have
started to appear, such as plastic made
from fish waste and shrimp shells.
Casein thermoplastic film from Lactips:
edible, water-soluble and thus immediate-
ly compostable

As expected, a number of airlines are
jumping on board with this green
movement and trying to incorporate these
exciting new materials into experimental
offers like no plastic flights. Etihad
operated a long-haul flight from Abu
Dhabi to Brisbane with zero plastic on
board, using edible biscuit coffee cups and
solid chewable toothpaste to eliminate the
need for plastic. The Portuguese airline
HiFly claimed to be the first to operate a
flight without plastic, using reusable
bamboo cutlery and aluminum covers
instead. United Airlines claims to have
achieved the most eco-friendly flight in
June this year by combining eco-fuel use
with other small initiatives less focused on
reducing amount of waste generated, like
sorting waste in-flight and using recyclable
plastic cups. Qantas, Iberia, Alaska Air
and other airlines have all launched similar
initiatives around recycling or replacing
plastic materials with “greener” versions,
without re-thinking the actual service and
meal experience itself. Air France has also
joined the cause by promising to eliminate
210 million single-use plastic items by
January 2020 and to start sorting and
recycling waste in-flight from October
2019 onwards.
The hype around sustainability has also
produced new concepts from various
consultancies and agencies, although
these ideas are typically geared more
towards generating publicity and media
coverage rather than being well thought
through, scalable and technically viable
solutions. That’s the case for the edible
and biodegradable tray developed by
PriestmanGoode this year, which is
currently being exhibited at the Design
Museum in London.
A project like this can make a positive
impact by helping consumers and industry
players realize that one doesn’t necessarily
need to sacrifice on aesthetics when using
biomaterials (often darker, browner, or
cloudier than common plastics). However,
because of its infancy, cost and
operational challenges of scaling the
product are unknown for it to be a
practical and functional solution that can
be implemented in reality, rendering it little
more than a nice concept.
MarinaTex, a food-suitable plastic alterna-
tive from fish waste that biodegrades nat-
urally in 4 weeks
PriestmanGoode biodegradable and edi-
ble tray, designed for exhibition “Get On-
board: Reduce. Reuse. Rethink” in London

REPLACEMENT SOLUTIONS : TACKLING
A CONSEQUENCE, AND NOT THE INNER
CAUSE
Solutions that replace plastics with more
sustainable materials, if done correctly and
scaled globally across many different
airlines, would be a good first step towards
making air travel more sustainable, but
only if correct sorting, composting and
recycling facilities exist at the airport level.
The implementation of such a system can
be complex and costly. The problem is that
replacing plastic with something else
doesn’t produce less waste, it just
produces a different type of waste that is
more sustainable for the environment. It
leaves completely intact the mentality
around generating waste. On the other-
hand, we believe the greatest impact can
only be achieved by questioning the
patterns of usage and the way we enjoy
services and meals on board. The best way
(and the most efficient in cost and effort)
to deal with too-much trash is to not
generate trash in the first place. Educating
and incentivizing users is a part of the
equation, as well as reframing the idea of
food on a plane as an opportunity to
create a new way to experience and enjoy
a meal.
B. BRING-YOUR-OWN
PASSENGERS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY
A new initiative by some airlines and
airports is the bring-your-own bottle
campaign, a reaction to the alarming
figure that airline flights in the US alone
“use 1 million disposable cups every six
hours” . One effort by San Francisco20
Airport has eliminated plastic bottles
entirely by replacing them with
PATHWATER reusable aluminum bottles
that can be refilled at more than 100
hydration stations throughout the airport,
which can of course be used to fill
passengers’ own empty bottles as well.
Any purchased PATHWATER bottle can be
returned or kept by the customer for
reuse.
INCENTIVIZING PARTICIPANTS
Consumer participation may be difficult to
achieve at large scale without some level
of incentivization, which is why companies
like Starbucks and Costa Coffee now offer
monetary incentives to those who bring
their own cups. Alaska Air has taken this
incentivization idea and put an eco-
friendly spin on it, planting a tree for every
reusable water bottle brought onto a flight
as part of their #fillbeforeyoufly campaign.
The push towards reusable bottles and
cups on planes is starting to gain traction
with many airlines and passengers, but
what if it could be taken a step further and
applied to other things beyond just cups?
PATHWATER partners with SFO to rein-
force the habit of using reusable bottles
during flights
http://cupanion.com/2016/07/the-overuse-of-single-use-plastic-waste-on-airlines/20

C. REUSE, NOT RECYCLE
CLOSE THE LOOP
Convincing passengers to bring their own
bottles onto flights is a small and positive
step towards eliminating waste on planes,
but airlines have the opportunity to reduce
even more waste by converting most of
their in-cabin products into reusable ones.
This would entail replacing their single-use
plastic products with more durable
materials that are then returned, cleaned,
and re-distributed on another flight,
thereby eliminating the need to dispose of
these products after only one use.
Although the energy needed to produce
single-use recyclable or biodegradable
products may be less than that needed to
produce reusable ones, studies have
proven that with repeated use, “reusing is
better than recycling because it saves the
energy that comes with having to
dismantle and re-manufacture products”.
Furthermore, it also "significantly reduces
waste and pollution because it reduces the
need for raw materials” .21
Outside of the air travel industry, the
circular deposit model is gaining a
foothold in the food and home products
sectors. LOOP, a major leader in this field,
partners with large FMCG brands to offer
their products in refillable, durable, and
reusable packaging, thereby removing
single-use plastic from the consumption
equation.
A number of services also offer circular
deposit systems specifically for food
utensils. One example is Globelet, a
company that caters to events, stadiums,
and offices by providing brand-able and
reusable cups and tumblers that they
collect, wash, and return after each use.
PLASTIC MATERIAL DOES NOT HAVE TO
BE THE ENEMY
When it comes to reusability, we should
not rule out the use of plastics. Yes, single-
use plastics are the problem, but the
material itself offers many functional
benefits on flights due to its sturdiness,
cost, and lightness. Starting a war on
plastic can be misdirected and even lead
to more inappropriate use of other
materials. A few airlines are dominating
Alaska Air’s #fillbeforeyoufly campaign
LOOP offers custom packaging for a vari-
ety of consumable, everyday products
https://www.clearancesolutionsltd.co.uk/our-reuse-and-recycling-success-as-green-as-it-gets/the-three-rs-21
the-difference-between-recycling-reusing/

the headlines with zero plastic flights, but
they often realize this by swapping plastic
with aluminum containers and lids which, if
not recycled properly, still result in a
negative impact, especially since these
materials require more energy to produce.
Cardboard cups and even edible packs
often come with plastic stickers or
hangers, thus creating additional waste to
sort in-flight or on the ground. It is
important to evaluate the full life-cycle of
the material to understand its final impact
from production and consumption, as
opposed to simply assuming that it’s
better for the planet because it isn’t
plastic.
In parts of the world where plastic from
catering waste can be reused, there is an
opportunity to take advantage of the
many positive material properties of
plastic by integrating it into a circular
deposit model. Even if the waste cannot
be cleaned and reused as is, efforts in up-
cycling recycled plastic can give the waste
a new life and create results that are both
reusable and aesthetically appealing.
MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES
ARE NECESSARY
In order to support the reusability of
products on flights, a major effort needs to
be undertaken to increase the cleaning
capacity along the supply chain, from
flight kitchen sites to catering facilities and
other service suppliers. The benefits of
such a huge undertaking, however, are
significant: by fully transitioning to
reusable products, the complexities of
having to separate waste go away, as does
the necessity for separated waste
management chains for recycled, reused,
compostable, and landfill products. In this
new process, all cabin products except
left-over food are returned to distribution
centers to be cleaned and re-distributed.
Yet even with this simplified distribution
path, the required infrastructure
development is a costly and time-
intensive effort that is shared by the many
different stakeholders who service these
flights (airlines, caterers, suppliers, and
airports). There are yet other ways to
resolve the issue of single-use plastics.
What if we could reinvent the
entire flight experience and go
completely waste free? 
Cupclub takes single-use coffee cups and
transforms them into elegant, reusable op-
tions in a circular-economy service
An inside look at the cleaning facilities of
Emirates Airways

PART III : A NEW VISION
FOR THE IN-FLIGHT
EXPERIENCE

III. IT IS TIME TO
RETHINK THE
ENTIRE IN-FLIGHT
EATING EXPERIENCE
Taking measures to become greener and
more sustainable should be an
opportunity, not a burden! While
rethinking new ways to package food is a
step in the right direction, we are
convinced that the real opportunity to
innovate lies in the development of a
whole new experience around eating.
As we touched on briefly earlier, serving
food on a flight is not such a simple task.
Airline meals are subject to strict health
and safety regulations. In fact, the airline
food safety rulebook is close to a hundred
pages long and covers a myriad of
different topics such as temperature
control, delayed handling, food truck
loading, packaging design, freezing,
thawing, serving, and on and on. In short,
airline meals are meticulously designed
and delivered to meet comprehensive
standards, and quite often, this means that
they require a ridiculous amount of plastic
packaging. 
BREAKING AWAY FROM THE
TRADITIONAL RESTAURANT-STYLE
MEAL
The plane meal is in many ways inherited
from the way food is served in a typical
restaurant: the classic three-course menu
with appetizer, main course and dessert
has been replicated in air travel. As a
result, the passenger experience is similar
as well : passengers use utensils to eat
their meals, are served individual portions
of food and drink, and are presented with
dishes that combine ingredients in an
intentional manner and are in some way
different from something that can be
cooked at home. Because passengers are
already familiar with this type of meal
structure, the safest option for airlines is to
simply copy over and replicate the same
elements in a plane meal. As we already
know, however, this results in a pile of
plastic waste after each meal, so a
redesign of the plane food experience is
needed in order to prevent this sad end
result.
Breaking away from the conventional
restaurant format opens up many new
possibilities. What if some of the foods
were passed around “finger-food” style,
eliminating the need for cutlery? What if
the food was served in a controlled
“buffet” style, with passengers only given
one re-usable plate and cup for their food
and drink as opposed to the assemblage
of trays and separate containers they are
currently given?
What if we could bring an entirely new
type of experience to passengers which
goes beyond these standard ways of
serving or interacting with food? In fact,
Finger foods can be a package-free and
cutlery-free experience

that is exactly what edible packaging aims
to do!
EVERYTHING IS EDIBLE
Thinking about ways to deliver new food
experiences can lead to discoveries that
can surprise and delight passengers. For
instance, the idea of eating an entire
product, packaging and all, is novel to
consumers and provides a new
perspective on the rules of engagement
with what’s on their table.
Airlines spend half a billion dollars dealing
with cabin waste each year, with most of
the trash being traced back to in-flight
catering. Could new edible options of
storing and serving food redirect trash
from the landfill into passengers’
stomachs?
Significant advancements in edible
packaging have come from biotech
companies that produce seaweed-based
eco-friendly packaging that dissolves in
hot water. Appearing as food wrappers,
instant coffee packets and sachets for dry
seasonings, this packaging has the
advantage of being nutrient-dense,
containing high levels of fiber, calcium, and
vitamins A and C. In its base form, the
edible packaging is tasteless and odorless,
but it can be infused with different flavors
as needed. While edible packaging is a
promising path to investigate for the in-
flight meal experience, it’s important to
note that there are still safety and
logistical issues (like the contact of the
packaging with potentially unhygienic
elements) that need to be evaluated
during implementation.
The edible packaging market
is growing at a CAGR of 6.81%
from 2017 to 2023.
Allied Market Research
RETHINKING CONTAINERS CAN ALSO
LEAD TO DESIGNING NEW USAGES
Edible packaging is not just a way to
tackle waste issues, but more importantly,
it is a way to create new experiences of
consumption. For example, a disposable
and edible coffee cup becomes the sweet
treat that you usually have when drinking
your coffee, and in fact even after you’ve
finished off the last drop of coffee inside,
you can continue to munch on the actual
cup. The company Etihad is now working
with brands such as Cupffee, to offer this
kind of experience with edible coffee cups
in-flight.
Evoware is an Indonesian company that
makes edible packaging from seaweed.
Here, the wrapping can be eaten along the
waffle

Another brand, Glenlivet, recently
launched a range of cocktails that come in
in clear, edible packets instead of glass
bottles. The brand posted on Twitter to
celebrate their departure from the
traditional spirits consumption model and
introduce the integrated, simplified form of
the new packaging. Pods like these could
become the new standard for the drinking
experience in airplanes, exploding in
customer’s mouths and offering new tasty
sensations.
Other playful innovations include the
Mange2 “consumable lunchbox” by
Sebastiano Oddi and the Sugarspoon by
Marie Vogelzant. Mange2 is a carrying case
made completely of bread which contains
picnic items for an all-edible meal, whereas
the Sugarspoon is exactly what it sounds
like: a spoon that is both a sweetener for
hot beverages and a delightful candy to
end a meal.
Although these solutions may have
implementation challenges around how to
safely store and preserve these newly
edible packages and utensils, these
challenges are not insurmountable, and
the potential opportunities to deliver new
gestures, surprises and discoveries to
passengers are worth investing the time
and money to realize.
THE SENSORY EXPERIENCE
We can likely all agree from our own
personal experiences that being in an
aircraft degrades the way we perceive
food: the loud background noise, the
change in cabin pressure, the drying out of
the inner ear, and the lack of humidity, are
all factors that likely affect our taste and
flavor perception. Meals need to be
designed with all of these factors in mind
in order to really deliver the best
Cupffee waffle cups were used on Etihad
plastic free long-haul flights. They remain
hard for 45min with a hot beverage
Mange2 by Sebastiano Oddi : Consumable
lunchbox
Glenlivet’s edible scotch pods

experience possible for that given
environment.
“Taste buds and sense of smell
are the first things to go  
at 30,000 feet. Flavor is  
a combination of both, and
our perception of saltiness
and sweetness drop when
inside a pressurized cabin. ”22
Enjoying a meal doesn’t only rely on taste
in its traditional sense (i.e taste buds in the
mouth): in fact, “taste” is actually
olfactory: we mostly smell what we eat
and interpret that as flavor. Researchers
have found that blocking the ability to
smell actually can cripple a person’s ability
to taste. Smell is essential, but it’s actually
the combination of senses and sensations
taken together that determines how much
you’re enjoying your meal, from the
aesthetics of the plate to the weight of
the silverware to even the sounds you hear
as you eat.
“When we eat our food, the flavor of our
food isn’t just coming from the taste
properties of the food. It’s a summation of
all the inputs from the outside world —
taste, smell, temperature, texture, the
sounds the food makes when you
consume it,” explains Robin Dando, an
assistant professor at Cornell University’s
Department of Food Science and one of
the leading researchers in the field of taste
perception.
Sit-down restaurants have already started
to experiment with ways to incorporate
multiple senses into a meal experience. For
example, “dining in the dark” restaurants
are appearing in major cities, based on the
concept that if you remove a diner’s ability
to see, they will be able to appreciate her
food in a completely new way through the
augmentation of her other senses.
Other ground-breaking restaurants, such
as Ultraviolet in Shanghai, utilize fully
immersive environments with elements
such as light, sound, temperature, and
Dinner in the Dark at a secret location in
Sydney
Russ Brown, director of In-flight Dining & Retail at American Airlines22

theater to take their diners on
transformative culinary journeys.
Clearly, there are different ways to create a
novel meal experience, and yet when you
look at an airplane meal today, most of
these potentially exciting elements are
lacking. Can a flight offer an enhanced
meal experience by playing with these
other senses? Perhaps by controlling what
passengers hear while they eat? Perhaps
by introducing scents and smells that
complement and augment the flavors of
the dishes?
Ideas like these and others can help craft
an enhanced in-flight meal experience
without increasing waste or adding more
elements to the plate.
FASTING WHILE FLYING
Taking a step back, we can even question
the original concept of eating on a plane:
although we know that eating in the plane
is now an expected convention, not doing
so has obvious advantages in terms of
waste management, and studies have
shown that fasting during long haul flights
actually has many health and sleep
benefits for passengers as well.
By fasting during a flight, the human
body's internal clock is allowed to reset
before “the big breakfast and subsequent
meals re-anchor the clock in the new time
zone” . This may help decrease the23
effects of jet lag, increasing energy levels
and avoiding the disruptions in
metabolism that are typically associated
with flying . Not eating on a flight would24
be somewhat of a major shift in mentality
towards flying and while there are
certainly people who would want to
continue with their existing approach,
there are others who may be willing to
give it a try.
So if you’re not eating on the actual flight,
then when are you eating? This new
constraint around not eating on the plane
could be the basis for a whole new
approach towards flying, where
passengers can sit down and have a
proper restaurant style meal in airline-
specific dining zones at the airport before
boarding the plane. During long-haul
flights, a light snack with edible packaging
could be provided and eaten on board,
while a sit-down meal featuring local foods
could be waiting for passengers at their
destination. Reusable catering products
could be used for both the pre-flight and
post-flight meals because of the simpler
logistics and regulatory environment
around products that are used and re-used
in the same location. In addition, there are
fewer challenges of preparation, storage,
and maintaining freshness while on the
ground.
Ultraviolet, the restaurant, explores pro-
jected imagery as part of the way to play
with the diner’s senses
https://harpers.org/blog/2012/03/the-empty-stomach-fasting-to-beat-jet-lag/23
https://hbr.org/2009/05/a-fast-solution-to-jet-lag24

If this new paradigm gained traction, it
would effectively address many of the
challenges around reducing waste on
flights while still serving the needs of
passengers - not only would passengers
still be receiving the same quantity of food
as in the existing in-flight meal set-up, in
many ways one could argue that this new
system has the potential to deliver higher
quality meals and a better overall
experience.

IV. CONCLUSION
irlines, airports, flight service
suppliers and passengers are all
becoming more sensitive to the
overwhelming issue of single-
use plastics. The ubiquity of plastic
throughout a flight is tied heavily to our
historical and cultural expectations of the
in-flight experience, particularly regarding
the concept of eating on the plane.
Through our research into the existing
efforts by airlines and airports to address
this issue, we see that they have already
engaged in what we consider to be the
first battles of a long and tedious war. The
most common solutions are recyclable,
biodegradable, and alternate materials, but
these are stop-gap measures with small-
scale implications and sometimes
questionable environmental impact.
Instead, we see promise in big-picture
solutions: solutions that require vast
infrastructure updates on a global scale in
order to support circular deposit models
and reusability models for all products, not
just cups and water bottles.
But there are even greater opportunities
and possibilities to envision for the
passenger experience… Why not remove
the packaging entirely, instead of replacing
it? Why not surprise and delight
passengers with new formats of eating,
while also eliminating the need for cutlery
and other utensils? Why not enhance the
meal by enticing and manipulating other
senses in ways that don’t require
additional single-use plastic? Or even go
so far as to have airlines serve full meals
on the ground before and after flights to
not only eliminate waste but to improve
the passenger’s own flight experience and
health as well?
While the challenge to remove single-use
plastic from flights is immense and
requires the effort of many stakeholders, it
can be an incredible opportunity to re-
define an often stale and monotonous
experience and create a new paradigm
around flying that both the passengers
and the planet will be grateful for. 
A

WHO ARE WE ? 
At Possible Future, we are convinced that
one of the most important steps toward
eliminating single-use plastics on flights is
to embrace a cross-sector perspective.
A. A CROSS-SECTOR
PERSPECTIVE TO IDENTIFY
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES
We obviously do not know your industry
better than you do, but we know how to
use a new perspective to foresee
opportunities that were perhaps invisible
from your viewpoint. One of the first steps
we go through when carrying out
exploration phases is to have a look at
how different sectors are solving similar
problems within the scope of interest of
the current mission. This is a structuring
part of our DNA, and ensures that we stay
creative along the challenge. The way we
see plastic-use is also specific to the
profile of our team : we are tired of
greenwashing. We don’t believe in small
incremental solutions that act as the
band-aid to the problem. We believe in
finding exciting and new business and
market opportunities, that not only
address sustainability, but also provides an
edge to the company. This is the
philosophy that we want to follow, and is
embodied by our team members.
To build our solutions based on the best
level of knowledge whatever the domain
we’re working on, we consider it necessary
to work with internal or external experts.
They enable us to quickly get an in-depth
understanding of the field we are working
on. Using their experience enables us to
spare precious time and open new paths
towards innovation.
For instance, while working on microbiota,
we interviewed Dr Philippe Marteau, a
renowned gastroenterologist. Next, we
interviewed Ignacio Perez from the CICLO
project in Mexico when dealing with the
problem of grey water usage. We also rely
on internal experts in the company: during
a mission for Safran, we got to interview
Jérôme Lacaille, Head of their DataLab, to
understand where the algorithms we were
working on came from.
Getting access to this expertise is
something we are used to, leveraging our
network and the ones of our partners:
Surfrider Foundation Europe, and
Circul’R.
Once we have an idea, we are driven by
experimentation. It enables us to quickly
iterate on our ideas and find the best
product for the end consumers. Our
designers and engineers are particularly
well trained on this matter, as explained in
the latest section of this document.
Meanwhile our business experts constantly
adapt the business model to
observations made on the field.
Working with different industries can
often be seen as difficult, as the
techniques, problem statements and even
languages are different. We see this as a
challenge and a source of innovation, and
built our expertise around these hurdles.
TEXTURES EXPERIMENTATION FOR A FOOD
PROJECT - POSSIBLE FUTURE

B. A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM
TO COVER ALL ASPECTS OF
THE PROJECT
We believe that a successful new business
should meet three criteria :
• It has to be feasible
• It has to be desirable, meaning potential
customers must easily understand its
value to them
• It has to be viable, by being a self-
sustainable product from an economic
standpoint
To meet those needs, we are a group
made of engineers, designers and
business experts. Those three skillsets
need to work together for a project such
as the invention of new businesses from
eliminating single-use plastics.
Dealing with growing pressure to satisfy
consumers’ demands and new
regulations; companies in the aviation
industry need to prepare a future where
these single-use plastics are eliminated.
This may be accomplished in partnerships
with other industries or within their own
departments to face a challenge that goes
beyond corporate responsibility.
The mission we gave ourselves at Possible
Future is to help corporations innovate
and build strong future businesses: here is
how we would concretely tackle the issue
with and for you and your teams.
C. OUR METHODOLOGY
If we were to launch a project together,
Possible Future would launch the
following actions :
We would dedicate a multi-disciplinary
team composed of one engineer, one
business strategist or marketer, and one
designer. The way we work also gives us a
unique advantage : all three skillsets are
used during the whole lifecycle of the
project.
This project (« Innovation Challenge »)
would last 4 months and be organized in 3
main phases :
- Exploration (5 weeks);
- Invention (4 weeks);
- Prototyping (7 weeks).
For those 3 phases, we would rely on our
tools and methodologies, inspired by
design and fine-tuned during our previous
projects.
# PHASE 1 : EXPLORATION
The challenge would start with a kick-off
meeting between your team and Possible
Future in order to determine the specific
scope for the challenge and to identify key
contacts and share useful documents and
information.
We would then start our 5 weeks
exploration phase. This phase would be
organized around the following activities :
# Market studies
We would strengthen our knowledge on
the market and subject by: analyzing
market forces, researching key
innovations. We would leverage the
documentation on the market that you
may have, our own research study, and the
interview of market experts that we may
source through our network and / or
yours. Our objective would be to identify
and sort out key business opportunities
related to the topic.
# Technical immersion
We would assess the maturity of existing
and rising technologies, in order to
understand precisely what value they can
bring to the project, the feasibility of their
integration and the timeframe in which
they could rise to full potential. We would

also identify and interview the key experts
of the fields, and if necessary, labs that
work on the said technology.
# Stakeholders interview
With your help, we would identify and
interview key stakeholders, in order to
gain a full knowledge on the internal
challenges and opportunities linked to the
topic.
The goal of the exploration phase is to
understand the ecosystem of the
challenge in order to identify relevant
innovation areas. The synthesis would be
shared with your team members during
the Immersion Day.
# PHASE 2 : INVENTION
This first phase is followed by a 4 weeks
invention phase.
Following the first workshop of the
Immersion Day, we would organise
invention workshops with the core team
dedicated to your company at Possible
Future, using various concept generation
and reinforcement techniques. The
material produced during the immersion
phase would be a key support to stimulate
creativity and build the strongest
concepts.
We would alternate these workshops with
stretch sessions involving a Possible
Future extended team (core team + other
Possible Future members with key
expertise). Each concept would be
stretched and strengthened with regards
to design (how is it useful for the end
user?), business (how does it make money
and stays profitable?) and technology
(how is it made?). The weaker ideas can
be combined or reintegrated into new
stronger ones.
The strongest concepts, that we would
choose to present to you at the end of
phase 2, would go through a series of
quick stakeholders tests, in order to
validate or precise the orientations that
have been taken.
The ideas not selected in phase 2 would
be kept in a « treasure box » and given to
you for potential internal development.
We would present the selected concepts
to your team members during the Pitch
Day. Each concept would include a
structured value proposition, a first
design proposal for its products and
services, a reflexion about the user
experience, a business model and the first
elements for the business plan (targeting
and market sizing).
Your team members would then choose
the concept(s) they would like to be
prototyped and fake launched
# PHASE 3 : PROTOTYPING
The goal of this step is to concretely
realize the project and expose it to the
reality of the market by simulating the
launch of the product/service in real life,
with real consumers.
This phase would last 8 weeks and include
the development of a functional
prototype, tests, and the collection of
client feedback, that would allow us to
adjust the prototype and the concept in
order to prepare the real launch.
Depending on the concept presented in
phase 2, we might want to involve experts
of one technology or another, to help us
build the functional prototype.
We would present the business case to
your team at the end of Phase 3, during
the Demo Day that would include : the

value proposition, the Minimum Viable
Product, a competition benchmark, a
detailed business plan, a launch strategy
and a product/service development
roadmap.
The project would therefore be built
around 4 checkpoints :
 
KICK OFF
Meeting préliminaire
Synthèse de notre
phase d’immersion
Présentation de
4 concepts
Présentation d’un
business case
IMMERSION
DAY
PITCH
DAY
DEMO
DAY

Thank you !
Contact us :
guillaume@possible-future.com

Possible Future - Removing In-flight Single-Use Plastics

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Possible Future - Removing In-flight Single-Use Plastics