Air New Zealand launches coffee cups you can EAT after finishing your drink
IN recent years, airlines have become increasingly aware of their impact on the environment and have been looking at ways to reduce it.
One of the most unusual is perhaps Air New Zealand's new initiative around its coffee cups.
, the Kiwi national carrier serves over eight million cups of coffee a year and has already been using compostable cups made from paper and corn.
But the next stage is to produce cups that won't generate any waste at all - because the customer would be able to eat them at the end.
Niki Chave, Air New Zealand's senior manager for customer experience, told Airline Ratings: "The cups have been a big hit with the customers who have used these and we’ve also been using the cups as dessert bowls."
The cups are made from wheat flour, sugar, egg and vanilla essence and has been described as an "edible biscotti coffee cup" by the airline.
It's made by a company called , who are also developing a chocolate flavoured cup and a gluten-free version.
According to twiice, there's no need for users to worry about it leaking and it will happily last until you've finished your drink.
And as the cups are vanilla flavoured, there will be little impact on the taste of the coffee.
But, twiice warned, the cups should be treated like a biscuit and stored in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
Online, reaction to the cup has been mixed.
One person tweeted: "Wouldn't it be easier to use reusable cups? I don't fancy eating a soggy biscuit cup..."
Another wrote: "I like to eat my biscotti while I drink my coffee not after."
It's also had a lot of support.
One person commented: "Great idea!! Hope the trial is a success."
Another added: "I'm flying tomorrow, I really hope I get to try it!"
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Earlier this year, BA announced plans to become the first UK airline to offset all carbon emissions on flights within the UK.
One airline boss recently revealed that climate change is actually causing more flights to be delayed or cancelled.
And some climate experts want airline loyalty schemes to be axed to discourage frequent fliers.