The Lufthansa Group has introduced the “Tray Tracker,” an artificial intelligence-based system designed to analyze and reduce food waste on flights. This technology scans leftover meals from onboard catering at the dishwashing line, determining whether a meal was partially eaten, completely consumed, or left untouched. Factors such as flight route, travel class, and meal type are considered in the analysis. The insights gained aim to optimize future meal portion sizes and selection, while also contributing to reduced CO₂ emissions by minimizing the weight and quantity of food loaded, used, and disposed.
This innovation has been in use at Lufthansa’s Frankfurt site for nearly a year and has recently been implemented in Munich. Plans are in place to expand the use of the Tray Tracker to other locations and airlines within the Lufthansa Group. The development of this mobile device was a joint effort between the Lufthansa Group Digital Catering Analytics Team and the group’s subsidiary, zeroG.
In addition to the Tray Tracker, Lufthansa Group is utilizing another machine learning-based initiative called “Pendle,” launched by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in 2024. Pendle employs algorithms to assess data such as flight duration, route, and past demand to enhance loading efficiency, with a long-term goal of integrating it with the Tray Tracker.
To further minimize food waste and improve loading practices, Lufthansa Group is introducing various measures. Passengers on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and SWISS short- and medium-haul flights can pre-order their meals, and fresh products are available at reduced prices on the last flight of the day. Passengers in premium classes on intercontinental flights with these airlines can pre-select their main course prior to departure. Emphasis is also placed on transitioning from single-use plastic and aluminum to more sustainable materials, with a third of these items replaced since 2022.
