Jun 10, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: These Ingenious New Meal Trays Save Virgin Atlantic Millions in Cash

Photos by Map Project Office
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virgin-atlantic-food
Virgin Atlantic spent $168 million upgrading their meal service by altering the look and feel of the trays and cutlery. The goal is to reduce their environmental impact by 43 percent by designing weight and waste out of the system.
Photos by Map Project Office
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The goal of the redesign was to make airline meal service feel more like a restaurant with multiple courses served over time. Food isn't deposited into cavities on a pre-molded tray; instead custom designed dishes and flatware are carefully arranged on the skid-proof surface.

Photos by Map Project Office
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virgin-atlantic-tray
Clever design modifications allow the trays to nest in the meal trolly and reduce their footprint by 25 percent, leading to massive reductions in fuel costs and carbon emissions.
Photos by Map Project Office
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virgin-atlantic-foam-rubber
Virgin's new trays feature a soft rubber inlay that prevents food from bouncing around in transit. It increases the cost of the tray, but eliminates the need for wasteful paper liners on every flight.

Photos by Map Project Office
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The of this carafe handle was redesigned with improved ergonomics in mind: Unlike a regular teapot, it's purpose-built to be lifted from above.
Photos by Map Project Office
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By rotating the lid of the carafe molded text reminds flight attendants about what each pot contains and reduces the need to resort to low class hacks like writing on it with a Sharpie.

Photos by Map Project Office
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virgin-atlantic-cake-holder
This is a flat pack cake stand that can be assembled in under 11 seconds.
Photos by Map Project Office
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virgin-atlantic-menu
The purple cutlery was the only facet of the design MAP couldn't radically reimagine due to stringent security requirements.

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