In the "pre-corona era", the public focus was on reducing plastic waste. Environmentalists repeatedly use dramatic photos to point out the precarious situation in the world's oceans. Numerous airlines jumped on the bandwagon and gave themselves a greener image by announcing that less plastic should be used on board. Austrian Airlines also declared war on this material, but the use of plastics is now being increased.

Currently, plastic beverage bottles pose a much lesser environmental problem than disposable masks. More and more countries - including Austria and Germany - are banning the use of washable fabric masks. The single-use products - regardless of whether they are so-called "medical" MNS or FFP2 - consist predominantly of plastics. Often these are carelessly thrown away after use. In many countries, legal disposal is also a serious problem, because the mixing of different plastics means that the disposable masks are defacto not recyclable. In other words: Hazardous waste is created that can also end up in the world's oceans, where fish, marine mammals and other animals can mistakenly mistake it for a jellyfish. Instead of the hoped-for delicacy, painful death often follows.

A plastic cup became a mini plastic bottle and a plastic cup

As part of the conversion of the catering concept to the sale of food and drinks in the name and for the account of Retail in Motion, Austrian Airlines abolished the previously free serving of tea, coffee and water on short and medium-haul flights. Up to now, 1,5-liter plastic bottles have been transferred to 0,2-liter plastic cups. In purely mathematical terms, around 7,5 passengers per bottle of water could get their mineral water.

This is now different on short-haul flights: The flying saleswomen only dispense water when specifically asked. In concrete terms, this means that no free mineral water is offered proactively, but that the passengers have to actively ask for it. There are no indications of this either during the booking process or in the sales catalog that is in the seat pockets.

With regard to environmental protection, Austrian Airlines is taking the avoidance of plastic waste, which was proclaimed before the pandemic, ad absurdum, because on short-haul flights the free mineral water is packaged in 0,2-liter sample bottles from the Ottakringer brewery. In addition, a plastic cup and a napkin are handed out. In other words: The distribution of the 0,2 liter Vöslauer bottles (the Mineralbrunnen belongs to the Ottakringer Group) including the cup - whereby this contains a little more than the bottle content - maximizes plastic waste. Grandiose invention in terms of environmental protection?

AUA refers to a sustainable overall concept

Austrian Airlines naturally sees it completely differently and refers to Aviation Direct to the entirety of the new catering concept. Among other things, a spokesman stated: “With the new catering concept on European flights, we focus on sustainability wherever possible. The rolls are wrapped in paper, the cutlery is made of wood, the coffee cups are made of porcelain. We use plastic cups, but they are collected and recycled (see ReOil project). We provide the mentioned bottle of water on flights of up to 75 minutes. On flights between 75 and 180 minutes travel time, we pour the water in cups. The amount is de facto the same. "

The AUA media officer also told Aviation Direct: “The difference arises from the fact that the service time is shorter on shorter flights. That's why we decided to dispense bottles here, which speeds up the process. We have been separating waste on board for years. This applies, for example, to PET bottles, glass bottles, Tetrapak, cans, etc. ”.

Staying thirsty protects the environment and the AUA wallet

Since many passengers do not even know that they can get free mineral water on AUA short and medium-haul flights - as mentioned, this is not actively offered, but only given upon explicit request - the actual impact of the “plastic waste maximization” is likely to increase for this reason " keep it limited. However, if all eco-passengers insist on their free drink, this creates significantly more waste. The sustainable approaches in the paid area of ​​on-board catering cannot hide this.

The rather unusual conclusion is that passengers who care about the environment should forego their free water. Austrian Airlines will take it easy, because every cup, napkin and 0,2-liter Vöslauer bottle that is not spent saves the carrier money. Per capita, the costs saved by not asking for free water are minimal, but in aviation, even cents can quickly add up to millions of euros over a calendar year.

For particularly environmentally conscious passengers, there is an alternative at many airports: water dispensers that can be used to fill bottles that you have brought with you. It makes sense to find these - if available - only after the security check. It becomes sustainable if a reusable container is used, for example glass bottles, which are regularly on sale at discounters together with a protective cover. Alternatively, a disposable plastic bottle can also be used, because these can also be easily filled from a dispenser or under a tap.