Airlines shaving spoon size, dumping magazines to beat recession!

London, June 10 (ANI): Airlines have been shaving spoon sizes and dumping in-flight magazines in a bid to make planes less heavier and save fuel during the credit crunch, reveals the International Air Transport Association.

According to Paul Steele, director of the environment at IATA, US' Northwest Airlines axed spoons from its cutlery pack if the in-flight meal does not need one.

Similarly, JAL of Japan reduced a fraction of a centimetre from all its cutlery to take some weight off the plane.

"When you are talking about a jumbo jet with 400 people on board, being served two to three meals, this can save a few kilos," The Telegraph quoted Steele as saying.

"You work out how much fuel that consumes over a year, and you can be talking about a considerable amount of money," he added.

Other carriers have also resorted to ingenious efforts to cut down on the sky rocketing cost of aviation fuel.

These include dropping in-flight magazines, putting duty-free catalogues onto the seat-back televisions and using lighter catering trolleys holding less number of water bottles.

Many airlines were also considering alternative ways to save fuel after facing pressure to trim down their carbon emissions.

Leading airlines in Kuala Lumpur had sworn to reach "carbon-neutral growth" by 2020 while eyeing the use of alternative carbon-free bio-fuels.

Other airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, Continental and Air New Zealand have also tested alternative sources of energy such as algae. (ANI)