Japanese Airline Proposal: Passengers Don't Have To Eat To Reduce Food Waste

(Bambi Corro / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Japan Airlines (JAL) asks its passengers to make an "ethical choice" by skipping meals on their flights. An airline representative said the move was aimed at reducing food waste, not cutting costs.

Quoting CNN, Monday, December 14, a JAL representative explained the "ethical choice" option is currently only available on certain night flights in Asia. This is because many passengers prefer to sleep throughout the flight rather than wake up to eat.

Since airlines prepare meals for everyone on board, passengers who prefer to sleep do not opt for the evening meal service or prefer to eat the snacks they bring with them. Of course this makes the food that has been provided wasted.

The program is inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, one of which is reducing food waste around the world. In Japan, companies are becoming competitive in their approach to meeting these SDGs.

This rule was first implemented as a test flight between Bangkok, Thailand and Haneda Airport, Tokyo, in November. The five-and-a-half hour flight usually takes place at night, leaving Bangkok at 10:40 a.m. and arriving at 5.40 a.m.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively few people are traveling, giving airlines the opportunity to roll out the rules in stages. Passengers can choose to cancel their previous meal service by opening the JAL website or calling the airline after they have confirmed their flight reservation.

This method is similar to the way they asked for vegetarian or halal food beforehand. While many airlines offer the opportunity to say "no thanks" to in-flight meal service, the JAL approach means no extra food is prepared and then thrown away.

In addition to the skip-dinner option, JAL recycles the maintenance technician's uniform into sound-insulating cotton fibers. They also asked flight attendants to use iPads in flights to reduce the paper print menu.

This is not JAL's only new initiative in 2020. In September, airlines changed the greeting "ladies and gentlemen" to more inclusive and neutral greetings such as "concern for all passengers."