KLM says it is wasting fewer inflight meals, thanks to artificial intelligence.
Newly adopted AI programs now enable the airline to better predict how many
passengers who have booked will actually board a flight — this allows the exact
number of required meals to be calculated, which has resulted in up to 63
percent less food waste based on the expected number of passengers per flight.
On an annual basis, this amounts to a saving of more than 100,000 kg of meals.
“Investments in digital technology are a priority for KLM,” said CEO Marjan
Rintel. “The application of
artificial intelligence contributes enormously to improving our flight
operations and making them more sustainable. Combatting food waste is a good
example of this — resulting in tens of thousands fewer meals being wasted on our
flights each year.”
When it comes to air travel, not all flights booked result in a passenger on
board said flight; depending on the class, between 3 and 5 percent of booked
passengers do not show up or miss their flight. Because of strict regulations regarding airline food service to avoid spreading food-borne illnesses, all in-flight food that passengers do not finish is considered contaminated and is immediately disposed of upon landing. An estimated 20 percent — or $4 billion worth — of all inflight food is wasted per year.
To address this, KLM — which has encountered some
bumps
along its journey to create a more sustainable future for
aviation
— adopted Kickstart AI’s TRAYS model, which was
specifically developed for the airline’s catering activities. It predicts the
number of passengers on board based on historical data. The Meals on Board
System (MOBS) receives the expected passenger numbers per flight with
separate forecasts for Business, Premium Comfort and Economy classes. The
prediction using the AI model starts 17 days before departure and continues
until 20 minutes before the flight departs — enabling the most accurate
prediction of the possible number of passengers for the entire catering process
from purchasing to loading, thus preventing a surplus of meals.
The TRAYS development process assembled talent from companies including KLM,
bol, Ahold Delhaize, NS and ING.
“We are pleased that we have been able to make a valuable contribution to this
important project for KLM,” says Kickstart AI CEO and co-founder Sander
Stomph. “Our goal with Kickstart AI
is to accelerate the adoption of AI in the Dutch business community and we look
forward to working closely with Dutch companies to make this happen.”
A three-month analysis shows that 63 percent less food has been wasted compared
to catering for every booked passenger. The largest improvement can be seen on
intercontinental KLM flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport — where
an average of 2.5 fewer meals (1.3 kg) need to be thrown away per flight. On an
annual basis, this amounts to a saving of 111,000 kg in meals across all KLM
flights that are catered from Schiphol.
KLM is also working on the application of artificial intelligence in other parts
of its business operations — including making aircraft maintenance smarter. In
addition, AI programs are used to simulate predicted bad-weather days, making it
clear in advance which schedule would be best to allow flights to continue as
much as possible. AI can also help passengers by giving personalized travel tips
after booking a flight.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Feb 15, 2024 2pm EST / 11am PST / 7pm GMT / 8pm CET