Airlines are growing ever-more innovative in their approaches to cutting down expenditure, The Times reports.
Despite a recent dip in oil costs, the price of fuel remains burdensome and has prompted many carriers to opt for some seemingly desperate weight-reduction strategies.
These include such minor tweaks as making cutlery smaller, scrapping cabin crew paperwork and – most bizarrely of all – removing earplugs.
Citing the case of Virgin Atlantic, the newspaper noted that passengers are now confronted with a virtually package-free in-flight meal, devoid even of clingfilm.
Cutting back on in-flight magazines is All Nippon Airways’ favoured approach, while Japan Airlines has removed earplugs and cut the weight of its forks and spoons by 2 grams.
Commenting on the industry-wide trend, Virgin Atlantic spokesman Paul Charles told The Times: “When you add it all up for every flight each year, it does matter.”
He concluded: “You can make thousands of tonnes of weight savings on each plane each year.”
