A while back, I started to see photos of a purple and pink 787 and wondered what the heck it was all about. Then I saw that people had the chance to get up close and personal with the plane at the Boeing Future of Flight, and I realized that I needed to figure out the full story. It turns out that the special livery is inspired by the Employees Community Fund (ECF) of Boeing. And what is ECF, you might ask? Good question. According to Boeing:
“Since 1948, ECF has funded approximately $1 billion to local communities across the United States. The ECF has 20 chapters across Boeing, giving employees an opportunity to make a difference where they live and work. Each chapter is managed by local employees who make grants based on the needs of their communities. The special livery celebrates the commitment and generosity of our employees in their local communities.”
I would say that is a pretty worthy cause to support this unique livery. This is also special, since it is not actually all paint, but is comprised of the largest decal ever on a composite aircraft. Boeing has certified the decal technology, so now airline customers can start using them. I am hoping it means more special liveries and please, oh please, I hope it means less European white designs.
First off, let”s be clear, I like the environment and want to not only do my part to make sure we have a nice little planet to live on, but also to motivate others. However, the plastic water bottle sales ban at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), taking effect on August 20th, got me thinking. Do these sorts of changes work as well in a ”trapped” world, like an airport? I say that since people in an airport do not have as much choice… they mostly can only pick among the options given to them on the airside (after security).
Over the years, airports have grown the choices airside by leaps and bounds. Heck, many airports are more like shopping malls than an airports. But in the end, you are limited. If your local grocery store decides to no longer sell a product and it is super important to you… cool, just go down the street to the next one. At the airport, that is going to be a bit more of an ordeal.
I will say that I was shocked by some of the numbers. On average, SFO sells about 10,000 plastic water bottles per day, and that equals 3,650,000 per year. No question that is A LOT of plastic and even if they are all recycled (saying they are being recycled), it is not a good thing for the environment. It actually makes me pretty sad so many people do not bring their own reusable bottles (my fianc brings one for both of us and is always reminding me to hydrate). Conversely, that high number of bottles also shows there is A LOT of demand from people to drink water in plastic bottles. Is it fair to require passengers to use other options?
Sure, sure, getting a reusable plastic bottle is not that much to ask, and the airport is providing some other good options, including water in other packaging (like aluminum and glass). But how expensive will those be and how will that impact a family of four on a fixed budget? Will passengers accept the change? Should there be some line of convenience vs doing what’s right, and is this new policy crossing it? Honestly, I don’t know the answers. But let me share with you some of my thoughts and I hope that we have a good conversation in the comments…
Timing can be a magical thing. I was just talking to my pal Jason Rabinowitz about airplanes (we do this often) and I was asking why the Airbus A330neo was such a big deal. I actually tracked down our high-end chat:
Me: “Why do we care so much about the A330neo? Just b/c that is all we have right now to celebrate?””¨Jason: “It new. And it all we got.”
Don’t get me wrong. I have still been excited watching the new A330 go into service, but it doesn’t match the excitement of the 787 Dreamliner, 747 Intercontinental, or A350 XWB.
The day after my award-winning chat with Jason, I received an invite from Delta Air Lines to come check out one of their new Airbus A330-900neos at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Perfect.
UPDATE: All of our tickets to the event have been assigned. See below to be added to the waitlist. If you live in the Seattle area, you like airplanes, and you enjoy getting together with other like-minded people, please keep on reading. On July 30th, our friends at The Points Guy will be at the […]
I am now emotionally ready to try this again — we are going to be moving AirlineReporter to new servers. Last time, things didn’t go so well (I think I used “dumpster fire” to describe it), and hoping that things go better this time. This means the site might be down here and there and […]
