Alaska Airlines is Testing the Use of Reusable Cups As it Looks For Ways to Slash Single-Use Plastics

Alaska Airlines is testing whether it can use reusable cups to serve beverages in its Main Cabin as the Seattle-based carrier explores ways to slash the use of single-use plastic and boost its sustainability credentials.

The airline has already carried out a feasibility study using durable and reusable plastic cups produced by r.World, although whether we see the cups rolled out on a wider basis remains to be seen.

The initial feasibility study took place on a single flight between Seattle and Minneapolis on October 20 – the date was chosen as it coincides with National Reuse Day.

The reusable cups made by r.World is already used by a number of concert venues and sports stadiums and, according to Alaska Airlines, have proved to be a hit.

In an effort to reduce the use of single-use plastics, Alaska Airlines has already swapped out throwaway plastic cups with paper cups, helping to save more than 55 million single-use plastic cups per year.

It’s a transition that several other airlines have also made, although the paper cups aren’t universally popular, especially when you’re trying to enjoy an iced alcoholic beverage, which can make the paper soggy.

Alaska Airlines isn’t alone in trialling the use of reusable cups and its an initiative that Delta Air Lines has already explored on several occasions. The last trial by the Atlanta-based carrier took place last year, although Delta conceded that finding the right reusable cup was proving to be a challenge.

“Finding the perfect cup is more challenging than it may seem – and the obvious choice isn’t always the most sustainable when weight and cup liner materials are considered,” the airline explained following last year’s trial.

“The plastic replacement needs to withstand hot, cold, and alcoholic beverages while delivering a consistent customer experience.”

The other factor at play is that reusable cups have to be collected, stored, washed, and sanitized. In some cases, airlines have decided that the cost and environmental impact of washing reusable service serviceware actually outweighs the benefits of eliminating single-use plastic.

That’s one of the reasons why so many airlines are switching to cheap but located bamboo cutlery.

Ryan Spies, Alaska’s Managing Director of Sustainability, concedes that the current feasibility study was very limited but he still hopes that the test will allow the airline to “gain valuable lessons and learnings that we can bring forward.”

In 2021, Alaska Airlines ditched single-use plastic water bottles onboard all of its flights for Boxed Water which is served from 92% plant-based cartons. Several years earlier, Alaska also stopped using plastic straws and stir sticks on its flights.

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Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since... most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.