Delta is trying to improve its eco-credentials as it builds out new amenities for passengers. Let’s see what eco-steps the airline is taking.
Starting this month, the airline will refresh its onboard product offerings with artisan-made amenity kits, recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable service ware and premium canned wine. Together, the products will reduce onboard single-use plastic consumption by approximately 4.9 million pounds per year – roughly the weight of 1,500 cars.
Let’s dig in.
New amenity kits
Delta has tapped Mexican apparel brand Someone Somewhere to create amenity kits for customers seated in the Delta One cabin.
Someone Somewhere is a Certified B Corporation that combines Mexican traditional handcrafts with innovative products, and Delta’s partnership with the brand has created jobs for more than 250 people in five of Mexico’s most vulnerable states.
The new amenity kit eliminates five single-use plastic items such as zippers and packaging, reducing plastic use by up to 90,000 pounds on an annual basis. Someone Somewhere’s artisanal production processes also eliminate waste and utilize regenerated cotton.
The new kits will launch onboard beginning in February and will contain sustainable, wellness-focused products including a Someone Somewhere eye mask, Grown Alchemist natural lip balm and hand lotion, and a Humble Co. bamboo toothbrush. Both Grown Alchemist products onboard will transition to aluminium packaging in April 2022.
Bedding
Delta’s premium bedding sets are now made with more than 100 recycled plastic bottles, which will use 25 million recycled bottles annually.
The airline is among the first to use 100% recycled polyester (rPET) bedding and – combined with the new use of reusable bedding packaging – will reduce single-use plastic use by up to 260,000 pounds per year. The sets began appearing on board in December 2021 and will be cycled in.
Refreshed Service Ware
The onboard service ware refresh continues, as the airline will use bamboo cutlery for domestic First-Class packaged meals and on some international flights.
During the year, this will trickle down to the international Main Cabin, where new dishware made from biodegradable material, bamboo cutlery will enter service.
The move follows Delta removing single-use plastic items including stir sticks, service ware wrappers, and straws.
And finally… Canned wine
For those who enjoy a tipple in the air, Delta will now serve two new aluminium-canned wines from Imagery Estate Winery
Delta will offer Imagery’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay on board starting with select coast-to-coast flights this month and will expand to all domestic flights later this year. The wine’s aluminium packaging reduces annual plastic use by up to 250,000 pounds.
And if they served the wine in glasses, that could reduce the plastic waste more.
In Quotes
Allison Ausband, E.V.P. and Chief Customer Experience Officer said
“Decisions we make on every aspect of our product are opportunities to make good on two core promises: to deliver exceptional customer experiences and build a better future for people and our planet,”
“These latest additions deliver something unique to our customers, reduce our environmental impact and enable job creation for the communities we serve around the world.”
Amelia DeLuca, V.P. of Sustainability add
“Delta has always put people at the center of everything we do,”
“It’s this people-first focus that led Delta to source new products onboard that reduce waste, bolster diverse suppliers and build communities. We want to protect our planet and the people on it, and the products we provide onboard are the latest way we’re living out this commitment.”
Removing plastic from the chain – but remember to reuse, repair, recycle.
Not using plastic in the first place is a great way to increase recyclability, as you’re not consuming the product to start with – this can be seen in the amenity kit (where there are plenty of reasonable options – be it waxed paper or another sort of protection.
Recycling is in play with the amenity kits as well as the wine can – which should be cheaper to lift in flight than a traditional glass or plastic bottle. Providing they reenter the recycling chain, there should be benefits there.
There is a disposable in the announcement with the use of bamboo and plant-based utensils. Whist there are biodegradable, moving to traditional tableware might boost the eco-credentials, with steels and plates tending only needed to be cleaned, rather than disposed of after a single-use.
It’s good to see airlines innovate in the space as they seek to reduce their footprints – be it in the air or the cabin. It also gives some ideas on where the airline can innovate next.
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Not a fan of the bamboo cutlery-has a funny after taste.