Making jets less jumbo: From cutlery to clingfilm, airlines cut weight to save on plane fuel

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just ask the airlines.

They are cutting back on everything from in-flight meal packaging to cutlery to lighten the load on their planes - and so cut down on fuel costs.

And in the battle to shed every spare pound they can, it seems the small things really add up.

Some of the measures include making cutlery smaller, replacing plastic drink stirrers with paper ones and even removing clingfilm from breadrolls.

Some airlines are considering getting rid of their in-flight magazines or cutting back on the condiment sachets they carry.

British Airways is reducing the weight of meals, replacing catering trolleys and scrapping cabin crew paperwork. On a typical long-haul flight, catering equipment and food weigh six tons.

'We have already reduced the amount of potable water we have in our onboard tanks and we have replaced our catering trolleys with lightweight versions,' a spokesman said.

Catering is under review, including the weight of cutlery, crockery and storage items and even meals.

The spokesman added: 'We are also looking to remove kitchen equipment that is not absolutely essential. And we are moving onboard paperwork to an electronic version.
'Airlines are having to look at absolutely everything. At some point, our in-flight magazines could be electronic.'

Virgin Atlantic is focusing on food packaging to lighten its planes. It has already removed the clingfilm from bread rolls and is working on an entirely package-free meal.

'When you add it all up for every flight each year, it does matter,' an airline spokesman said. 'We already have lighter seat fittings and lighter cargo bins. You can make thousands of tons of weight savings on each plane each year.'

Slimline airline: BA is cutting the weight of passenger meals and scrapping cabin crew paperwork

Japan's All-Nippon Airways has introduced lighter porcelain for first and business class passengers while Japan Airlines has slimmed down the handles of its forks and spoons, reducing their weight by 0.07oz. Its new seat frames are made of carbon fibre  -  five per cent lighter than aluminium.

It says it can also cut 50lb alone by reducing the number of newspapers and magazines carried on international flights. The airline also removed 125 paper cups from each aircraft, shaving off 1lb 6oz. Every little helps. Earplug sets have also been reduced.

There are, of course, strict limits already in place regarding the baggage that passengers carry on board.

But so far, no airline wants to tackle the issue of weighty passengers themselves. None has any plans to charge passengers according to how much they weigh.

Six years ago, Virgin Atlantic paid £13,000 compensation to passenger Barbara Hewson after she was crushed by a female passenger on a flight from London to Los Angeles.

The 23-stone American woman was so large that she could fit into the seat only with the armrest raised.

TRIM TRICKS:

• Cleaning the plane's engine saves 628lb

• Leaving aircraft and freight containers unpainted saves 242lb

• Carrying less alcohol on daytime flights saves 485lb

• Loading water more precisely saves 882lb

• Less wrapping and lighter cutlery saves 66lb

• Removing one earplug set saves 0.175oz

• Slimmer fork saves 0.07oz