JAL Hosts Workshop for Elementary School Students: Envisioning a Kinder Future of Travel

Japan Airlines (JAL) held a workshop for elementary school students at the Haneda Airport observation facility “JAL SKY MUSEUM” on July 23 to think about sustainable future travel.

At the workshop titled ‘JAL Children’s Future Development Department,’ 19 students from third to sixth grade were appointed as ‘child employees’ of the department. After introducing themselves with handwritten business cards, the children received a lecture on sustainability from Mr. Tetsuya Okada, who served as an ‘adult employee’ and is a pilot.

Mr. Okada explained the current situation of global warming, showing photographs of the Alaska ground surface taken from the airplane. He introduced sustainable practices during flights, such as reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by operating only one side of the engines during ground movement. He also mentioned simple measures passengers can take, such as lowering the window shades during deboarding to improve air conditioning efficiency inside the plane and reduce environmental impact.

Based on the lecture, the children discussed and shared sustainable ideas for ‘a kinder future travel for everyone’ that they can partake in, both ‘onboard and at airports’ and ‘in everyday life and at destinations.’ The ideas presented by each group ranged from environmental concerns, like using irregularly shaped vegetables for in-flight meals and minimizing waste at travel destinations, to actions considerate of others, such as giving priority to people with disabilities or the elderly.

Ms. Junko Sakihara, Vice Chief of JAL Customer Experience Headquarters, commented after hearing the presentations, ‘We received various hints. We would like to incorporate feasibl…