Lufthansa Group uses artificial intelligence to reduce food waste

Germany

With the “Tray Tracker,” the Lufthansa Group has developed an innovative, AI-supported solution to measure and reduce onboard meal returns. The mobile technology scans meal returns from the onboard catering of flights at the dishwashing line.

Artificial intelligence recognizes whether a meal has been partially eaten, completely eaten, or left untouched. The flight route, travel class, and meal concept are also included in the analysis. The insights gained will enable optimized portion sizes and meal selection in the future. In addition, the “Tray Tracker” will contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in the future, as avoiding overload reduces the total weight. At the same time, less food is transported, used, and disposed of.

Lufthansa has been using the innovation at its Frankfurt site for almost a year. The AI has also recently started scanning trays in Munich. In the future, the Tray Tracker is also set to be used at other Lufthansa Group locations and airlines. The innovative mobile device was developed by the Lufthansa Group Digital Catering Analytics Team in cooperation with Lufthansa Group subsidiary zeroG.

Another machine learning-based project by the Lufthansa Group to prevent food waste is called “Pendle.” Launched by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in 2024, the initiative uses algorithms that analyze data points such as flight duration, flight route, and previous demand to optimize loading. Long-term, the aim is to link the two projects.

More environmentally friendly onboard products The Lufthansa Group is pursuing various measures and projects to reduce food waste on board as much as possible and optimize loading. Passengers on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and SWISS short- and medium-haul flights can pre-order their preferred meal and, with the “to go” offer, purchase all fresh products at a reduced price on the last flight of the day. Premium class passengers on intercontinental flights with the airlines mentioned above can select their main course before departure from the hubs. This measure also helps to reduce food waste caused by overloading. In addition, the focus is on switching from single-use plastic and aluminum to more sustainable alternatives. Since 2022, a third of these items have been replaced on board.