Aviation

Qantas operates world’s first zero waste flight

The first-ever commercial flight to produce no landfill waste took to the skies this morning, marking the start of Qantas’ plan to cut 100 million single-use plastics by end-2020 and eliminate 75 per cent of the airline’s waste by end-2021.

All inflight products on board QF739, flying from Sydney to Adelaide and staffed by cabin crew from the Qantas ‘Green Team’, will be disposed of via compost, reuse or recycling.

About 1000 single-use plastic items were substituted with sustainable alternatives or removed altogether from the flight, including individually-packaged servings of milk and Vegemite.

Alternative products used during the flight include meal containers made from sugar cane and cutlery made from crop starch, all of which is fully compostable.

At the end of the meal service, Qantas cabin crew collected the items left over for reuse, recycling or composting in multiple waste streams.

Customers used digital boarding passes and electronic bag tags where possible, with staff on hand to make sure any paper passes and tags were disposed of sustainably.

The Qantas lounges at Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal also went ‘green’ for the flight, with multiple waste streams in use.

In its effort to remove 100 million single use plastic items every year by the end of 2020, Qantas and Jetstar will replace 45 million plastic cups, 30 million cutlery sets, 21 million coffee cups and 4 million headrest covers with sustainable alternatives.

The zero waste flight will be 100 per cent carbon offset. Qantas operates the largest carbon offset scheme in the aviation industry, with a passenger offsetting their flight every minute. From mid-2019, customers will earn 10 Qantas Points for every dollar spent offsetting their travel from Australia, which is the highest standard earn rate of any frequent flyer initiative.

Last year, Qantas operated the first biofuel flight between Australia and the United States using biofuel processed from mustard seed, and in 2012 Qantas and Jetstar operated Australia’s first biofuel trial flights.

More information can be found in this factsheet.

Aviation

Boeing Resumes 737 MAX Manufacturing After Seven-Week Strike

In a crucial move for its recovery, Boeing has restarted production of its best-selling 737 MAX jetliner, about a month after a significant seven-week strike involving 33,000 factory workers came to an end.

This marks a key milestone for the planemaker, which has been facing considerable challenges in recent years, including heavy debt and a series of setbacks.

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According to the report from Reuters, Boeing resumed the production of the 737 MAX jetliner last week, a pivotal step as the company aims to meet the growing global demand for air travel. With over 4,200 orders from airlines, Boeing’s ability to get the 737 MAX production line back in motion is vital for its financial recovery.

Although Boeing had previously planned to restart production earlier, the company faced numerous obstacles that delayed this process. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Mike Whitaker told Reuters on Thursday that while Boeing had not yet resumed production, they had plans to restart by the end of the month.

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The road to this point has been rocky for Boeing. Setbacks such as the tragic fatal crashes of the 737 MAX, the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing supply chain issues, production safety concerns, and increased regulatory scrutiny have all contributed to delays in the company’s efforts to ramp up production.

The seven-week strike, which involved thousands of Boeing’s factory workers, added yet another hurdle. Despite these challenges, production of the 737 MAX officially resumed on Friday, according to one of the anonymous sources.

Boeing, however, declined to comment on the matter. The planemaker is now focused on reaching its goal of producing 56 737 MAX airplanes per month, a target that has been delayed due to the many issues that have beset the company over the past few years.