We know carbon emissions from air travel contribute to climate change and we have a responsibility to minimise the impact of our flights. In the short term we want to be as efficient as we can and we’re also committed to reaching net-zero by 2050. 

Luckily, we’ve got a talented team working behind the scenes to create incredible changes across all of easyJet, from optimising the technology we use to reimagining the uniforms our Cabin Crew wear.

Using AI to reduce hotel food waste

We’ve partnered with Winnow to support our hotel partners in reducing food waste using artificial intelligence tools and running more sustainable kitchens. The pilot programme is being launched in Spain and using the same kind of technology you’d find in a driverless car, Winnow’s AI technology learns to ‘see’ the food being wasted. Data is collected and stored on the cloud so teams can receive reports pinpointing the waste and helping them make improvements. A typical kitchen using Winnow sees food waste halved within 12–18 months.

Making over 20% of our fleet NEO-technology

With the recent arrival of our 67th A320neo Family aircraft, a fifth of our fleet is now new-technology A320neo family aircraft. A320neo Family aircraft use around 15% less fuel and have up to 50% noise reduction at take-off, landing and whilst taxiing. A key part of our path to net-zero, we’re aiming for 25% of our fleet to be A320neo Family aircraft by October 2024.

Pioneering new technology 

Together with Rolls-Royce, we are pioneering the development of hydrogen combustion engine technology, capable of also powering an easyJet sized aircraft in the future. Hydrogen has zero carbon emissions and the potential to also significantly reduce non-CO2 effects from aviation. And when we speak about ‘easyJet sized aircraft’, this means we’re addressing the narrowbody aircraft segment, similar to the size of aircraft in our current fleet, which is the key to achieving decarbonisation at scale. We are thrilled to announce that our partnership has already achieved a world first – by successfully running a modern aero engine on hydrogen.

Reducing plastic use

We’re always looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic onboard our aircraft. In our 2022 financial year we removed 11.5 million items of single-use plastic, introduced a recycling programme for our dry stores and made packaging changes which could save two tonnes of plastic waste annually. Since 2020 we have tracked the avoided use of 48 million items of plastic across our inflight service.

We also introduced new crew uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles. Forty-five bottles go into each outfit – with the potential to prevent 2.7 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfill or in oceans over five years.

But watch this space, as we’ve got lots more ground-breaking work on the horizon.