United Airlines Says Bye to 250 Million Plastic Cups in Favor of New Paper Design

by Krish Patel

Many travelers who regularly fly United are likely to remember the transparent plastic blue cups meant for cold beverages. However, the Chicago-based carrier has begun to eliminate these familiar cups in favor of newer, more eco-friendly recyclable paper cups.

This new cup began rolling out at the very beginning of August on international and regional United Express flights and is slated for expansion on all mainline United flights this October. A key difference between this paper product versus the old plastic one is that this cup can hold both hot and cold drinks, eliminating the need for two types of cups. 

United’s new paper cups are designed with two layers of paper and a water-based interior coating and are certified as both recyclable and compostable. The airline says that it will eliminate 250 million single-use plastic cups each year, which didn’t hold nearly as much liquid as this paper design. Additionally, Delta Air Lines has also opted for paper beverage cups, making American the only of the ‘big 3’ U.S. airlines to still offer plastic cups, though they hold  significantly more liquid compared to United’s old plastic cups. 

Having one cup makes it operationally easier for the airline to serve beverages, as staff will not need to load two types of cups into an aircraft galley and it also simplifies catering. This rollout will eventually expand to all mainline routes on October 1 and is set to eliminate 250 million single-use plastic cups each year.