Inflight Catering and Waste Management in the Emirates Airlines - Dissertation Example

Inflight Catering and Waste Management in the Emirates Airlines 1. Introduction 1.1 Summary and background No other means of transportation has affected recreation, business, socialization, the way flying has. Air transport is associated with a lot of ideas and activities and has affected almost every business and organization worldwide. It is the fastest means offering easy access to international tourism spots around the world, rapid transfer of people and goods between different cities worldwide, and many opportunities and experiences for travellers and businessmen. As it positively affects the economies of nations and peoples, it also negatively affects heavily the environment. (Daley 2010, p. 1) Tourism and travel cannot develop without aviation. Demand for air transport is continuing as humanity and technology develops rapidly. The aviation industry is a highly competitive industry. Regulations and many constraints are imposed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and it is within this context that Emirates Airlines operates. The various airlines operating at the Dubai International Airport have to follow regulations on complex factors dealing with parking lots, landing and take-off schedules, and environmental matters. Catering services have to follow sensitive rules and regulations because these activities can cause environmental problems. (Abdi & Sharma, p. 296) This paper is about Emirates Airlines and the environmental impact the firm creates as an outcome of its various activities. The paper specifically touches on the waste generated as a result of inflight catering. Inflight catering generates a great amount of waste of various types and it demands an effective waste management. Environmental impact suggests several sub-topics, such as greenhouse gas effects, waste generation and other environmental concerns within the aviation industry that need discussion and in-depth analysis. Solid and food wastes from airlines are disposed of, processed or segregated at airports. Therefore, waste management at airports is a significant part of this paper. Emirates Flight Catering, a company formed under the Emirates Group, generates tons of waste from inflight catering. It serves the Emirates aircrafts and the other airlines operating at the Dubai International Airport. The firm has a waste management system carried out by an Environmental Team whose job is to maintain a close coordination and collaboration of the different units of waste management of the Emirates. How to dispose of the wastes requires a skilful management strategy. This paper provided an indepth analysis of the literature on waste management and the environmental management (EMS) systems implemented by the Emirates Group, the mother company of Emirates Airlines and the Emirates Flight Catering. 2. Literature Review Emirates Airlines plays a significant role in tourist attraction for the economic development of the UAE. Its accomplishments are quite exceptional. For example, during 2009 to 2010, Emirates, as Emirates Airlines is also known, underwent challenges just like the rest of the industry worldwide, but it continued to ignore the global economic crisis and the negative outcome of the 9/11 attacks against the United States, surpassing other airlines by carrying 27.5 million passengers and transporting 1.6 million tons of cargo. Reporting a net profit of $964 million, the Emirates proved they could surpass others by a skilful strategy because what happened was a feat for a carrier operating at the Dubai International Airport. The largest in the Middle East, Emirates continues to grow with fleet expansion always on track, ordering new aircrafts from major manufacturers like Boeing at an average of one aircraft a month. In 2011, it had an estimated 5.72 million loyal customers. Along with these accomplishments are the airline’s responsibilities for the country, United Arab Emirates, and the environment. (Nataraja & Al-Aali 2011, p. 471) 2.1 Demand for air transportation Climate change and global warming are threats facing the earth and humanity. The deterioration of the environment has become increasingly alarming that immediate action is needed. Environmental impacts of industries are examples of humanity’s disregard for a sustainable future. Humanity moves fast to destroy the ecosystem and ecological balance, but humanity must move fast and change the course of actions to save the environment and the planet as a whole. Major air pollutants come from transportation, stationary sources such as factories and power plants, and industries. Air pollutants are indeed alarming – examples are carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates, hydrocarbons, and photochemical oxidants. Shifting to renewable energy has been the hope of conservationists and manufacturing bio-fuel has been studied and now tested. 2.1 Air transport and the environment The role and demand for air transport in this century will create more environmental impacts especially on climate, air quality, and the atmosphere (Lee, Olsen, Wuebbles, & Youn, 2013, p. 691). From 1960 up to the present, global air passenger traffic increased at a rate of 9% annually, faster than the growth of global average gross domestic product (IPCC, 1999, as cited in Upham, 2003, p. 911). The demand for air transport is continuous as prices of flying also continue to fall. Airports and carriers should permit additional capacity, exacerbating economic, social and environmental issues. Environmental impacts from the growth of the global aviation industry will also exacerbate. Air transport affects climate change because aircrafts produce a lot more ‘carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC), sulphur dioxide (SO2), water vapour (H2O), soot and other particles to the atmosphere’ (Brasseur et al., 1996; IPCC, 1999; Lee et al., 2010, as cited in Lee et al., 2013, p. 691). A U.S. government workshop reported the impact of aviation on the ozone and methane concentration on the earth’s atmosphere as a result of aircrafts’ emissions of nitrogen oxide and other chemicals like aerosol which affect cloud compositions (Joint planning & development office: workshop on the impacts of aviation on climate change: a report of findings and recommendations 2006, p. 4). Inflight services for passengers and crew generate another environmental impact. Inflight meals and its various designs can affect the environment. It has been estimated that about 70 percent of an airline’s waste comes from inflight service. Disposing of wastes also needs fuel. Suppose a medium-sized international airline were to discharge of one 100 kilogram of food trolley per flight for each aircraft in the fleet, it would be able to save about $500,000 a year in fuel costs alone. Reducing service on board has been the remedy of some airlines. For example, an airline introduced a ‘gate buffet’ wherein passengers picked up their meal in the waiting lounge. Others used recyclable materials. Using disposable versus reusable dishware and cutlery on board remains a commendable method of some. (Lynes& Becken 2002, p. 40) Inflight catering produces a lot of waste. The wastes come from passenger airlines, ticketing booths, gate areas, offices, food from flight catering, etc. A multitude of waste also comes from the various concessionaires in the airport. Food, drinks, containers, trays, plastics, and many sorts of wastes are produced once the aircraft lands in the airport. Low-cost airlines do not offer in-flight means, and thus they generate lesser wastes than more expensive airlines. Other wastes are identified as cardboard boxes, plastics, packaging materials, paper, food scraps, and wastes from the kitchen and the toilet. (Airport Cooperative Research Program 2011, p. 181) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1999, as cited in Egelhofer, Marizy, & Cros, 2007, p. 73) reported that the high growth rate of the industry is a major environmental concern for future aviation. Aviation is an international issue and its impact on the atmosphere is an international concern. Environmental concerns vary between regions. Aircraft design influences the impact of aviation on the Earth’s atmosphere, especially on climate change. Environmental concerns are about aircraft noise and fuel emissions. Waste management and responsible disposal are as important. (Li et al. 2003, p. 87) 2.2 Objectives The objectives of this paper are: 2.2.1 To investigate the impact of waste generated by inflight catering in the aviation industry; 2.2.2 To determine how airlines and airports conduct waste management for the tons of wastes generated by airlines; 2.2.3 To determine how Emirates Flight Catering introduce/conduct effective waste management; 2.2.4 To determine the effectiveness of the Environmental Management Systems being implemented by the Emirates Airlines and the Emirates Flight Catering; 2.2.5 To explore the aviation industry’s ways of minimizing environmental abuse; 2.3 Project Outcomes 2.3.1 An analysis of the environmental impact of the aviation industry, especially the impact of the Emirate Airlines and Emirates Flight Catering on the environment of the UAE, and the steps/activities undertaken by the airline to reduce and minimize this environmental impact. 2.3.2 Recommendations for further study on the subject of environmental impact. One of the limitations to this study is the lack of empirical study on inflight catering and waste management of airlines and airports. Why am I interested on this subject? The reason for my interest in this project would be that of highlighting the effects of aviation to the greenhouse effect. This would be highlighted in terms of enumerating the aviation activities that impact the environment, particularly catering activities, waste management in the aviation, gas emissions of airlines, and the climate effects of airline emissions on the earth’s atmosphere. Research questions How does inflight catering affect waste management of airports? How does Emirates Flight Catering conduct effective waste management? What are the main components of Environmental Management Systems (EMS)? How do airports conduct waste management? What role does the Emirate Airlines play in helping reduce environmental impact of the aviation industry in the United Arab Emirates? Research Methods This dissertation will conduct secondary and primary research about the environmental impact of Emirate Airlines. Secondary research will involve literature review while primary research will include interviews and questionnaires from management staff and employees of the Emirates. A theory on the understanding of management business research evolved from the thesis formulated by Gibbons et al. (as cited in Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 6) pertaining to the acquisition of scientific knowledge. According to this theory, current knowledge production stems from two types, which Gibbons and associates termed ‘mode 1’ and ‘mode 2’. Mode 1 is the traditional and university-based model, where knowledge production is attained through the academic method. This draws distinction between theoretical and applied knowledge, and the theoretical is transformed into practice. The weakness of this type is the translation of theory into practice as the academic community mostly draws knowledge from theory. On the other hand, ‘mode 2’ emphasises ‘trans-disciplinarity in research’ wherein boundaries of disciplines are surpassed and the findings cannot be duplicated. Here, knowledge production is not the linear type. But knowledge production is not limited to the university or the academic environment but from academics, authors and experts. Knowledge is distributed easily and results are quickly analysed to attain advantage. Mode 1 and mode 2 tend to exist side by side but mode 2 is the most preferred type of knowledge production. (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 6) In conducting business research, Bryman and Bell (2007) suggested questions to be answered by the researcher, such as: What are the objectives of your research? Is it for the purpose of improving your organisation or to increase effectiveness and performance in your organisation? Is it for improving organisational knowledge or its effects on individuals and society? Who will benefit from this research? Is it for managers or for others in the organisation? Is the research to improve academic knowledge of business and management as a subject or as a discipline? (Bryman & Bell 2007, p. 6) The answers to the questions above will provide a good report or a concept of business research taken from many perspectives or concepts from commentators and experts in the field. Proposed Chapter headings Chapter headings 1. Introduction 1.1 Objectives 2. Literature Review 3. Methodology 4. Results/Analysis 5. Discussion 6. Conclusion 7. Recommendations 8. References My plan for the research Talent, creativity, intelligence and patience make a good dissertation. I would like to add prayer and perseverance. It will be a long way for this paper but I am quite sure it will reach its destination. The first major activity is research through books, journals and websites that will provide me a lot of resources for the study. Research involves browsing and scanning from various websites on the topic of aviation and its impact on the environment. A major undertaking will involve a lot of reading, condensing and paraphrasing the journals from databases and from the internet. I have to conduct a process of inclusion and exclusion of the journals and articles. What will be included are writings about waste management in aviation industry, a particular topic about inflight catering, and other important activities about eliminating waste and chemicals from airplanes. Inclusion criteria include the place and time the studies were conducted, the date of publication, and qualification of authors and researchers. My next job will be outlining my dissertation after I have gathered enough resources for the literature review. Outlining includes the writing of this proposal, drafting dissertation and conducting more research and collecting more information and data. Writing the draft will be applied with editing and more editing. References Abdi, R & Sharma, S 2010, ‘An empirical study of information system for disruption management’, in F Betz, T Khalil, Y Hosni, & H Mostafa (eds), Creating and managing a technology economy, pp. 285-312. Al Bawaba 2010, ‘Emirates’ inflight catering wins prestigious PAX international readership award’, viewed 16 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database. Bryman, A & Bell, E 2007, Business research methods, Oxford University Press, Inc., New York. Daley, B 2010, Air transport and the environment, Ashgate Publishing Company, USA. Emirates flight catering: company information 2013, viewed 14 September 2013, . Deidewig, F, Döpelhauer, A, & Lecht, M 1996, ‘Methods to assess aircraft engine emissions in flight’, Proceedings of the 20th International Council of Aeronautical Sciences Congress, vol. 1, pp. 131-141, Sorrento, Italy, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Egelhofer, R, Marizy, C, & Cros, C 2007, ‘Climate impact of aircraft technology and design changes’, Journal of Air Transportation, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 72-97, viewed 24 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Inform complete database, EBSCOHost. Hooper, P, Heath, B, & Maughan, J 2003, ‘Environmental management and the aviation industry’, in P Upham, J Maughan, & C Thomas (eds), Towards sustainable aviation, Earthscan Publications Ltd., UK and USA. Joint planning & development office: workshop on the impacts of aviation on climate change: a report of findings and recommendations 2006, viewed 24 September 2013, . King, T 2001, ‘Inflight catering’, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 181-184, viewed 16 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database. Lee, H, Olsen, S, Wuebbles, D, & Youn, D 2013, ‘Impact of aircraft emissions on the air quality near the ground’, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussion, vol. 13, pp. 689-727, viewed 21 September 2013, ABI/INFORM Complete database, EBSCOHost, DOI 10.5194/acpd-13-689-2013. Maughan, J, Raper, D, Thomas, C, & Gillingwater, D 2001, ‘SCAN-UK – a network approach to environmental best practice in the aviation industry’, Eco-Management and Auditing, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 240-247, viewed 24 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database, EBSCOHost, DOI 10.1002/ma.164. Nataraja, S & Al-Aali, A 2011, ‘The exceptional performance strategies of Emirate Airlines’, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 471-486, viewed 20 September 2013, ABI/INFORM Complete database, EBSCOHost, DOI 10.1108/10595421111171966. Noble, M 1994, ‘The flourishing inflight food business’, Special Report: Inflight Catering Industry, pp. 30-36, viewed 16 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database. Pincus, L 2001, ‘Flight catering: a North American perspective’, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 174-176, viewed 16 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database. The Emirates Group: Emirates flight catering 2013, viewed 14 September 2013, . Upham, P 2003, ‘Climate change and planning and consultation for the UK aviation white paper’, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 911-918, viewed 24 September 2013, via ABI/INFORM Complete database, EBSCOHost, DOI 10.1080/0964056032000157660. Waitz, I, Townsend, J, Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J, Greitzer, E, & Kerrebrock, J 2004, Aviation and the environment (A national vision statement, framework for goals and recommended actions), viewed 20 September 2013, . Read More