Delta Adding New Eco-Friendly Onboard Items

Delta Air Lines is again upgrading its efforts to create a more sustainable air travel future for customers, this time adding more eco-friendly onboard offerings.

The Atlanta-based carrier will now have artisan-made amenity kits, recycled bedding, reusable and biodegradable service ware and cutlery and premium canned wine instead of bottles.

The airline said that, together, the new products will reduce onboard single-use plastic consumption by approximately 4.9 million pounds per year and significantly increase Delta’s support of minority- and women-run businesses.

“Decisions we make on every aspect of our product are opportunities to make good on two core promises: to deliver exceptional customer experiences and build a better future for people and our planet,” Allison Ausband, Delta’s E.V.P. and Chief Customer Experience Officer, said in a statement. “These latest additions deliver something unique to our customers, reduce our environmental impact and enable job creation for the communities we serve around the world.”

The offerings include the following:

— Mexican apparel brand Someone Somewhere will create the amenity kits for customers seated in Delta’s premium Delta One cabin. Someone Somewhere is a Certified B Corporation that combines Mexican traditional handcrafts with innovative products, and Delta’s partnership with the brand has created jobs for more than 250 people in five of Mexico’s most vulnerable states. The new amenity kit eliminates five single-use plastic items such as zippers and packaging, reducing plastic use by up to 90,000 pounds on an annual basis. Someone Somewhere’s artisanal production processes also eliminate waste and utilize regenerated cotton.

— Delta’s bedding sets are now made with more than 100 recycled plastic bottles, which will use 25 million recycled bottles annually. The airline is among the first to use 100 percent recycled polyester (rPET) bedding and – combined with the new use of reusable bedding packaging – will reduce single-use plastic use by up to 260,000 pounds per year. The sets began appearing on board in December 2021.

— Delta continues to overhaul its onboard service ware globally by introducing products made from natural and recycled materials to replace and reduce plastic usage. Delta now offers bamboo cutlery for domestic First Class fresh packaged meals and on select international flights. Later this year, all international Main Cabin customers will also see new dishware made from biodegradable material, bamboo cutlery and a premium paper placemat.

— Delta will now serve two new aluminum-canned wines from Imagery Estate Winery, a premium Sonoma winery led by award-winning winemaker Jamie Benziger. Delta will offer Imagery’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay on board starting with select coast-to-coast flights this month and will expand to all domestic flights later this year. The wine’s aluminum packaging reduces annual plastic use by up to 250,000 pounds.

“Delta has always put people at the center of everything we do,” said Amelia DeLuca, V.P. of Sustainability. “It’s this people-first focus that led Delta to source new products onboard that reduce waste, bolster diverse suppliers and build communities. We want to protect our planet and the people on it, and the products we provide onboard are the latest way we’re living out this commitment.”