Air New Zealand has carried out a trial of “single-use cup free flights”, as it explores how to reduce the millions of cups used on its aircraft each year.
The carrier trialled the initiative on six domestic flights last week, with customers being encouraged to bring reusable cups with them, or being provided with one for use during onboard service.
ANZ said that “knowledge gained from customer feedback, operational logistics, and impact will help to determine the viability of implementing the initiative in the long term”.
The airline recently removed all single-use cups from its domestic airport lounges – equating to the saving of around one million single-use cups per year – but admitted that doing the same inflight “is a much greater challenge”.
Back in 2019 the carrier trialled an edible biscotti coffee cup from family-run business Twiice, with passengers able to eat the vanilla-flavoured cup like a normal biscuit after finishing their drink.
ANZ’s chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin said that the airline used around nine million single-use hot beverage cups each year on its aircraft, plus “millions more plastic water cups”.
“Removing waste in an aviation environment comes with its challenges,” said Hannifin.
“Infrastructure to support waste reduction can vary from airport to airport, country to country and the need to operate flights on schedule is paramount.
“Designing and procuring with a circular mindset right at the outset avoids waste in the first place and is the optimal starting point. We are excited to see how we can make inroads onboard our aircraft.
“While the airline is very focused on how it can decarbonise, avoiding waste is something it can do right now.
“Reducing carbon emissions from flying is our greatest challenge, and we are under no illusion about how critical it is to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuel.
“However, much of decarbonising aviation is reliant on new technologies, policy support, and sustainable aviation fuel becoming more available.
“That’s why we’re also looking at things that impact our natural environment such as waste, which is much more within our control.”
Last year German carrier Lufthansa introduced new reusable cups (made out of recycled plastic) for use by customers ordering hot drinks from the carrier’s Onboard Delights service on European flights.