What's the deal with airline food?

January 15, 2019

Paula Cao

You ever notice how airline food tastes like your dentist's waiting room floor? You have your little bowl of pasta, and it looks like they fished it out your sink drain. And you can't bring food onto the plane, so you're stuck with either hours of not eating the food or hours of wishing you hadn't eaten the food. And they spend half an hour pushing the little cart and blocking the aisle so you can't get to the bathroom, which strangely enough, smells exactly like what you just ate.

But even worse than eating airline food (hard to believe) is the waste airline food generates. The last time I was on a plane, I had two meals. Everything was individually wrapped: the bread, the main course, two sides, even the Kit-Kat bar that was already in a wrapper. Everything came in these plastic containers. Seems like a ton of waste.

Every tray of food brought onto the plane is thrown away, even if no one eats it (due to health concerns), which is quite wasteful.
With a little Fermi calculation, we can estimate the annual waste of airline food. In addition to all the plastic, I didn't eat all my meal, so let's estimate 2 lbs of waste per meal, times about 2 meals per person, times about 500 people on the flight, times about 10,000 flights per day, times about 400 days per year, results in 8,000,000,000 lbs, or 4 million tons of waste produced per year! (The actual statistic anywhere from 3 to 5 million tons).

Of course, it's not just the food that's waste. There's also those wrappers of peanuts or crackers or whatever they serve, the wrapper for those blankets and pillows, and those plastic cups they serve ginger ale (here's a tip: if you speak with a deep voice, you can order beer).

Yes, airline food produces tons and tons of waste, but is there a more efficient method of packaging and transporting airline food? Would it be easier to just starve for ten hours? And of course, what is the deal with airline food?

Comments

Anonymous said…

I was recently on a long plane ride and received airplane food too. I agree that they packaged everything wastefully. I think one way that they could package their gross food is to package the meal together as a whole rather than each part individually. I think that they should not just make everyone starve for hours, I think that they should provide meals like the prepackaged salads that they have at the store that are healthier then what they provide right now. Another way that they could provide food on planes is if they have the ability to have a refrigerator on the plane, they could remove most of the waste right there, yet they would have to prepare it on the plane, which would be more work. Another way they could reduce waste is that they could provide food like oranges or apples that have their own natural packaging that are biodegradable. I think airplane food is so bad because the airline does not want to spend money. And they could save money by using less wasteful packaging.

January 16, 2019 at 11:14 AM

Anonymous said…

I think a more efficient way to package the meals would be to package the meal together. It is wasteful to package each item individually and by packing the meal as a whole, you have waste but it is reduced. Reduced waste is better than nothing at all. It would be much easier for an airline to not feed the passengers if the goal was to reduce waste but the food and drinks are a way to make the flight more comfortable and relaxing. Starving customers probably isn’t the best thing for airlines to do if you want customers to come back. And speaking from expiernce, talking in a deep voice definitely allows you to get beer instead of ginger ale :)

January 16, 2019 at 11:15 AM

Anonymous said…

The packaging, even though for our own safety, does produce a ton of waste. I feel as if we value hygiene on airplanes more than thinking about the amount of waste of the packaging of food. The airlines seem to carry more food just for customer satisfaction, and maybe a way to combat this is to make customers be able to pre-order their food just like they pay for their seats beforehand. As you said, they really do excessively package with plastic upon plastic, but I feel like there’s a reasonable cause like some passengers are allergic to specific items. The passengers with allergies or specific preferences would be way more happier with getting food that they want to consume which is where pre-ordering falls in. If there’s an option to already decide your meals before you get on the plane they can get a specific amount of food and package it all together rather than separately because all of it goes to one person. Also I feel as if technology may be the route towards getting rid of all this plastic usage. If only there was a food producing machine that combines ingredients and makes what the customer wants on the spot, but as of right now there should be more focus in improving airplane conditions leading to how the food is manufactured being changed. I usually sneak in my own food, but starving sounds like a way better option on airlines because the food tastes terrible.

January 16, 2019 at 3:35 PM

Anonymous said…

The deal with airline food is that "it's trying to hijack our stomachs and take us to the bathroom!" I agree; airline food it not from that five star hotel across the street, but sometimes it just gets the job done. Long haul flights to other countries would be miserable without food as well as connecting flights. I'm sure there's many ways to come up with safer, more environmentally friendly packaging with a list that spans from here to Europe. However, the main reason why you can't bring your own food buffet style on a plane is health and safety issues regarding liquid bombs and certain import rules on products like dairy.For example, Within the EU, you can bring fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy or other animal products (eg fish, eggs and honey) into the UK, If you're from another country such as the US, products like these are prohibited to bring in, due to health concerns. These rules are kind of silly, and yes, there's plenty that can be done to make airlines more ecofriendly, yet all that we need is for the general public to latch on and get the ball rolling.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/531649/Bringing_food_into_the_UK_leaflet.pdf

January 16, 2019 at 4:27 PM

Anonymous said…

Although I don’t believe that everyone should necessarily starve, education of the waste that airline food produces would help flyers to become more conscious of the waste they create. Alongside this, it would also serve beneficial to both the environment and consumer to pre-plan meals for flights in order to reduce the amount of trash produced at the end of flight as all food, eaten or not, is thrown away (per Paula). Thus, with better education and a proactive meal plan, I believe flights can reduce waste by up to at least two times the amount currently produced.

January 17, 2019 at 10:26 AM

Anonymous said…

I think that the statistic of about 4 million tons of waste that comes from airline food is a very enlightening statistic. Waste does come from many areas, including airline food, but the waste from airline food is significantly higher than it needs to be. There is definitely a more efficient way of packaging and transporting airline food that is eco-friendly and sustainable. Instead of using plastic, maybe try incorporating easily recyclable products, like paper. If the airlines insist on utilizing plastic, then use only one wrapper around the tray instead of individually wrapping each item. Wrapping the whole tray would save a significant amount of plastic from going to landfills. If we were to educate every American, we could potentially save millions of tons of waste from going to landfills. Might as well start with the worst food: airline food.

January 17, 2019 at 3:32 PM

Anonymous said…

The appalling statistics of how much wastes comes from the airline food significantly alerted me personally. I feel like the main reason for this problem is the fact that the wastes are most definitely plastic. As we learned in class plastics are impossible to biodegrade which means that it would notably pollute the overall environment. Therefore, one of the ideas that I came up was that airlines should utilize the recyclable materials in serving the food instead of simply using plastic. Also serving lesser snacks that are plastic wrapped like peanuts, chips, and etc, could at least not affect the environment through pollution. Another way to solve this problem is to provide milk shakes instead of a full meal. I'm sure there are people who would rather drink protein shake and get full rather than eating the "little bowl of pasta that looks like they fished it out your sink drain". This would not only satisfy numerous customers, but it would also help reduce the amount of wastes that come from airplane dining.

January 17, 2019 at 9:35 PM

Anonymous said…

I never actually thought of how much waste is actually produced on airplanes until I read this. It may be easier to just starve for ten hours, but I believe that there is a more efficient way to package the airline foods and snacks. Instead of plastic, the airlines could use paper products or recyclable products to package the meals. Also, the meals could come in one packaging instead of several different packagings. Better yet, there could be a system where passengers could choose ahead of time what meal they would prefer when buying their plane ticket. This could save the airlines from disposing leftover meals and prevent creating more food waste.

January 18, 2019 at 8:55 AM

Anonymous said…

Before reading this, I never really thought about the waste that airplanes produce during a flight. There is always going to be some waste produced during flights, but I think the amount can be greatly limited. I beleive that airlines first need to change what type of packaging is being used. Airlines need to shift away from using plastic and start using more environmentally friendly materials. This will make the waste produced from a flight have a less negative effect on the environment. Also, the airlines should not go overboard on how many meals they bring onto a plane. If airlines are consistently throwing out unused food at the end of flights, they should cut back on the amount of meals they bring onto the plane in the first place. This will greatly cut down on the amount of waste being produced. Airplane food is definetly bad, but it doesn’t have to be bad for the environment.

January 18, 2019 at 4:19 PM

Anonymous said…

This post has really made me think. I've been on many planes but I have never truly thought about how much trash they generate. A short 1 hours plane flight must generate so much trash! It's crazy to think about how much of the food they have goes untouched yet still goes to waste. I think using recycable products rather than so much plastic could be a nice alternative. In addition, another idea would be to possibly pre-order your food online so that this way not as much food will be trashed. These ideas could really prevent so much unecessary waste. Personally, I hate airplane food and I barely ever eat it, much like many other citizens, so I would rather starve. But for other airplane food fanatics, pre-ordering or using recycable materials could really help this situation tremendously.

January 18, 2019 at 6:37 PM

Anonymous said…

Until reading this blog post, I never realized how much waste airlines produced from the packaging of their food. Three to five millions tons annually is a truly frightening statistic. While I don’t believe the solution is to starve the passengers, I believe there are many steps that airlines can take to reduce the amount of waste produced. For expample, packaging the food as a whole rather than individually. For those who are afraid of their food mixing, another solution would be to use biodegradable or recyclable products to package the food. These solutions seem easy enough to be put into action, so the first thing that must be done is to call attention to the problem at hand, like you’ve done.

January 20, 2019 at 12:16 PM

Unknown said…

After reading this post, I keep trying to imagine the effect that 4 million tons of waste has on the environment. And this comes from only one aspect of today's world, and it happens every year. But with some easy changes, I think this number can be reduced significantly. With a company as large as an international airline, even small changes can result in huge impacts. For example, people can opt out of having an in-flight meal and instead buy food at one of the airport's restaurants for the plane ride. If this isn't an option, airlines can think of serving meals that come wrapped all together rather than separately. The materials that they do use should be recyclable to limit the amount of waste that is produced.

January 20, 2019 at 3:40 PM

Anonymous said…

This kind of waste seems to run rampant in our society, mostly due to the fact that our economy is very dependent on it. We would not be making the large amounts of energy as we do today without wastage, and that needs to change. If we are able to pass new policies in the FDA, where most food wastage polices are et, we could dramatically reduce the amount of waste, as well as maybe getting better tasting airline food. Of course, the airlines must also step up their game and be willing to provide those services.

January 21, 2019 at 12:46 PM

Anonymous said…

I’ve been on many flights lately, and I’ve been beginning to notice the same thing. I am most confused about the drink cart. On most of the flights I’ve been on, the flight attendments pour the drink from a can into a plastic cup, and then give you a bunch of napkins. This to me seems like a big and unnecessary waste. In addition, they give out so many small snacks that are way too overpackaged. This contributes to the giant trash problem we have. There are many alternatives that the airlines can do to reduce their trash output. For example, instead of buying a bunch of small cans of soda, they can purchase a few big contrainers so that they don’t produce a can of waste every time someone would like a drink. Like others have said, the airline industry is just one part of society that makes this much trash. However, if it does its part to reduce waste, perhaps other industries would follow.

January 21, 2019 at 12:53 PM

Anonymous said…

The amount of airline waste that goes directly to landfills is appalling especially because most of the foods drinks are either unopened or half eaten. While airline companies have to prioritize customers over anything else, I feel as though they have to take into account the sheer amount of waste they are generating. Fewer meals should be given out or people should be able to bring their own food, which normally comes in recyclable paper or cardboard. Airlines should also implement reusable silverware policies, implement recyclable straws such as those made of bamboo, and have more recyclable items and packaging which can be effectively recycled on the airplane through quick sorting. While all of these potential ideas will prove to be costly for the airline, it should be a cost worth taking the burden for because many consumers lately have been thinking about future sustainability as well. Younger consumers are more frequently choosing the “greener” option when possible, providing an incentive to airlines.

January 21, 2019 at 9:48 PM

Anonymous said…

This really changed my perspective on airline food waste policies. I had never really thought about how much waste is produced on an airplane, especially because in-flight there is nowhere else for this waste to go. I think most of the problem comes with airline passengers not finishing their meals and leaving a lot of meals unopened, creating more waste that goes to landfills. A better way to package these meals would be to cut down on the individually wrapped food and wrap the meal altogether to decrease plastic waste. Another solution could be to invest in recyclable materials for airline meals, such as recyclable utensils and recyclable paper to wrap meals. This can help reduce landfill waste and promote less wastage to other airline companies. If we continue to engage in such wasteful practices, future generations could suffer as we are carelessly filling up landfills without thinking of how future populations can be affected. We can start promoting greener policies to help encourage airline companies to take a step back and recognize the amount of waste being filled in landfills due to their lack of interest in sustainable practices. Once awareness spreads, this can help future consumers rethink and consider the importance of living sustainably.

January 22, 2019 at 6:30 AM

Anonymous said…

I am surprised by the statistics and agree that airline food is packaged in a way that creates a lot of waste. I think that there must be more discussions about this topic since I feel that no one really talk about it. I don’t think that a person should starve, but we must find a way to package them in an environment friendly way. As the others say I think the food should be packaged in a whole. Also using biodegradable substances will help make the waste drop. I also noticed the options are just veg or non veg bu there isn’t a proportion you can choose. I think if there were proportions such as small, large or medium people can choose what they would eat.

January 22, 2019 at 6:49 AM

Anonymous said…

Now while I may not agree with your opinion of the food, I can agree that the way that it is packaged can be wasteful. They need to find a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to packaging the food, while still keeping it under the proper guidlines of health and safety. If we were able to find that, we would have a better system of airline food.

January 22, 2019 at 10:22 AM

Anonymous said…

I honestly had never thought about how much waste airplane food generates. But, you’re right - all of the plastic and excess used is harmful to the planet. I believe there are alternative methods that could be used to package the food. A cost-friendly and environmentally friendly method should be put in place to minimize some of the waste. Recycleable or biodegradable alternatives could be used to minimize the waste that comes from airplane food.

January 22, 2019 at 10:25 AM

Anonymous said…

I true thought about this everytime I went on a long airplane flight! Last year, I took a trip to Dubai, and 8 had a combined flight time of around 17 hours. I received around 5 meals and 2 snacks on this extremely long flight, and there were around 5 plastic containers or wraps PER meal! This is around 27-28 pieces of disposable plastic just for one person on this flight! Multiple that by the 300 or so people on this one plane, and the multitude of flights in the air each day, and the number of wasted plastic is simply too much, We need more biodegradable and recyclable material in our planes, for sure

January 22, 2019 at 10:31 AM

Anonymous said…

Even in their efforts to preserve the freshness and safety of airline food, I also believe that many of the airlines have been heavily wasteful. In my opinion, instead of heating up previously cooked meals and serving it to passengers, airlines should focus on either providing better snacks or completely remove heat up meals. Although I do believe it is important for airlines to give its passengers a satisfactory experience, I also believe that it is important to limit waste and encourage people not to waste food. Although this may be a viable solution, passengers on overseas flights may face more difficulties in relation to how much food they need. Therefore, I believe a solution for long flights would be an option to cater food for passengers on flights. That way, only the passengers that feel particularly hungry will order food and those who do not need it will not have to worry about wasting any food they do not like or cannot finish. No matter what solution is presented, my hope is that people wil begin to realize that airlines are wasting tons of food and will make efforts to try and prevent it.

January 22, 2019 at 10:38 AM

Anonymous said…

I never realized the extent that airlines produce waste. Sterility is very valued in our society and the precautions that airlines take are reasonable (considering the backlash they could receive). However, these precautions are unnecessary in comparison to the negative impact that this waste has on our enviornment. A better way to reduce this waste is to package all the food into one container, reusing blankets and pillows, and using reusable cups rather than just flimsy plastic ones. Although these changes are slight, they would greatly help the fight against pollution as well as create minimal to no changes for the passengers.

January 22, 2019 at 10:45 AM

Anonymous said…

Despite airlines producing a lot of waste with their food, I don’t think that we should necessarily get rid of airline food. On international flights, the trip is long and grueling and depletes a humans energy. Food is something that comforts someone on these flights and replenishes their energy. However, precautions on how passengers use their waste should be put in place and waste reduction should be implemented. Implementing recyclable products in airlines would greatly diminish the waste that airlines produce.

January 22, 2019 at 2:35 PM

Anonymous said…

I think that the best way to reduce the waste of airplane food is to package the food with paper and biodegradable materials instead of plastic. It would also be possible to make the packaging more efficient by having fewer compartments and sides. From my experience, most of the extra snacks aren’t even eaten anyway.

January 22, 2019 at 7:39 PM

Anonymous said…

Planss are crossing the planet day and night 24/7. With each plane desposing of their food after each flight the amoung of wasted food and amount of cumulated garbage is astronomical. Humans are so wasteful. We needfind a fission way to supply food for the airlines

January 23, 2019 at 11:29 AM

Anonymous said…

Airplane food is bad because the lower pressure makes our taste buds not taste much. As a result by to taste the same before it is in the air, airline caterers have to add up to more of sugar or salt to a meal to combat that mulling of senses. Also the recycled air doesn’t allow for for much difference in smell for our noses to connect the smell to the taste aspects. Now for the materials used, its crazy because I’ve noticed the waste but never thought much about it until I saw these statistics. I’ve spoken to airline hostesses and they’ve added their input into it and said we should definitely change the materials to maybe more biodegradable but before that maybe as a starter to use a single packaging to hold the food together instead of having it separated. As for the people who are selective on what they’re going to want to eat, I propose that they choose what they want before they get in the flight.

January 23, 2019 at 1:09 PM

Anonymous said…

While using wrapping and not reserving uneaten meals is understandable, the airlines really do need to figure out environmentally sustainable ways of serving their passengers. I never even considered how much waste airlines produce, from trash to harmful gas emissions, but these statistics opened my eyes to the extremely wasteful nature of not only airlines, but consumerism as well. The issue of single use packaging such as ziplock backs, straws, and grocery bags is that while they seem to be simple and convenient, their effects on the environment are extremely dangerous. Airlines would be a great place to start processes such as reusable dishes and using less plastic wrapping, which would, hopefully, carry over into the rest of the food industry.

January 23, 2019 at 7:59 PM

Anonymous said…

I agree that the packaging does result in a lot waste and a solution to this problem is using recycable materials for packaging. This can result in less landfill waste which will help the environment. Although having to starve for 10 hours will help the environment but it will not satisfy the passengers. For example some might get sick because of the feeling when the plane start moving up and will need something to eat. Starving passaengers will most likely go to a different airline just to get their snacks. Another problem that is seen everywhere including in airplanes is the snacks being over packaged. For example, a bag of Doritos would be so big with only 5 chips inside it. I have never thought about this but these are the reasons why there is so much waste.

January 24, 2019 at 7:38 AM

Anonymous said…

I completely agree that single use plastic results in a lot of unneeded plastic waste, and airlines are the absolute worst at this. I mean it really shouldn’t be that hard to use disposable materials, or even use normal china and silverware and just clean it after. Sure, it would be a lot of extra work but airlines could reduce a ton of their plastic waste if they switched to some different methods.

January 24, 2019 at 10:10 AM

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