posted by Catherine on Aug 14
Welcome to the second part of this article – so I’ll get straight on with it.
Now, think about the alcohol. What if half the people on your plane were carrying a 2 liter bottle of alcohol they had brought cheap at the airport to drink on holiday? Just imagine the extra weight involved for the plane to take off.
And – as people expect to be able to buy duty-free on the plane as well – the airline will be carry liters and liters of the stuff themselves – just in case! Make sure you aren’t the people who buy it from them – it only means that they will keep supplying it.
Anyway – it would probably only cost people a few extra $’s at most to buy brand name or generic versions of their favorite alcohol at their destination (helping the local economy as well – rather than the global airport firms).
And most travellers probably haven’t even thought that the extra cost in fuel will no doubt be added to costs elsewhere on the flight – or onto the airline ticket prices for the following year!
So, to help the planet out, follow a few simple guidelines here.
1) Don’t buy your duty free goods on the plane – that way airlines will stop carrying it. They won’t carry things that never sell. It just doesn’t make good business sense.
2) If you need to buy your alcohol or perfume before your trip – then buy them at the airport instead. Then you are not encouraging the plane to carry them – and so in the future – only the drinkers themselves carry these on board rather than the airline carrying enough for everyone!
3) Many airports offer a service where they hold your purchases at your departure airport for you to collect on your return. This will save you carrying fragile bottles around the airport with you there and back. Think about using this service for anything you buy duty-free unless it is vital to your vacation.
4) Some airports even have a tax-free store on the arrivals side – so you can buy your cheap products just as you set off for home – having carried nothing all the way. Not every airport does this and they don’t hold as many items – but if you research your airport before flying you could save all the agro of carrying everything on the plane – as well as the extra fuel.
Multiply these ‘savings’ up to the other 500 passengers on the plane – and we are getting somewhere!
Add this to the other 500 planes that leave that day – and we will start to see some real changes, and you could be a part of that!
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