Swiss now sells left-over economy meals on the last flight of the day

Many airlines have moved from handing out free meals in economy class to a more profitable 'buy on board' model – but what happens when not everyone buys what the airline has on board?

Instead of throwing out the day's freshly-prepared food, Swiss is now selling it at a reduced price.

In an innovative trial now underway on European routes from Geneva, the last flights of the day see passengers offered bags of unsold food, presumably to take home as a late supper, at a third of the usual price.

These grab bags contain one, two or three fresh food items such as rolls, wraps and pretzels, although their exact contents are not revealed in advance.

The initiative comes through a partnership with Too Good To Go, an app-based platform designed to reduce food waste by connecting companies with users.

"Managing waste on board is an important part of our commitment to greater sustainability," stresses Swiss' Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. "We hope to significantly reduce unused food on board our aircraft by introducing this service."

Swiss has it already uses historical sales data for each flight to tailor its fresh product as closely as possible to likely passenger demand, but this new method ensures there's no wastage at the end of the day.

"The first results from these trials have been promising," says Swiss' Head of Western Switzerland Romain Vetter.

"The new approach has been well received by our passengers on the flights concerned. We're now awaiting a final analysis of the trials' findings to decide if we should extend it to further routes."

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.