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Airbus X Delta Airlines
Closed-Loop Cabin Catering
Data System Redesign
SPONSORED PROJECT
PRODUCT DESIGN
SYSTEM DESIGN
January 2025 - May 2025. I Atlanta, Georgia
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Worked with the Delta Sustainability team as part of the Airbus-led SESAME (Sustainable, Efficient, Safe Air Travel by Management and Engineering) initiative.
Redesigned Delta’s cabin catering ecosystem by creating a closed-loop data system that links passenger preferences, in-flight behavior, and post-flight waste insights, enabling smarter provisioning and more sustainable operations.
PROJECT GOAL
The overarching goal was to support Delta Air Lines in advancing its commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across operations by 2050.
PROJECT CLIENT
Delta Airlines Sustainability Team
Airbus
PROJECT ROLE
Irene Jacob ( Product Designer & Researcher, Project Manager, Berkeley Chandler (Researcher) and Qun Liu( Product designer)
Design research, coordinated cross-functional collaboration, and guided the end-to-end design process from discovery to concept development.
KEY PROBLEM AREAS ( DELTA'S ECONOMY FLIGHTS )
Passenger personalization (e.g., dietary needs) isn’t fully integrated into inflight provisioning, despite existing data collection opportunities.
Real-time feedback loops on consumption are weak, current systems don’t track what’s left uneaten or wasted post-flight.
There is no system that links onboard waste back to specific flights, passengers, or meal types, collected waste is aggregated into one system.
Delta operates a centralized food waste collection system that aggregates waste from all flights, without tracking data on a per-plane basis.
Fragmented data across Delta’s catering ecosystem limits personalization and waste reduction, presenting an opportunity for a unified, closed-loop data system.
SOLUTION
Closed-Loop Cabin Catering Data System Redesign
Rethinking DELTA’S Airline Catering
Created a new data flow and a Catering Insights Dashboard that supports accurate demand forecasting, personalized meals, and detailed waste tracking. By integrating personalized pre-selection, QR-enabled meal transparency, and real-time consumption feedback, our system bridges the gap between passenger behavior and backend catering operations, helping Delta reduce overproduction and advance its sustainability goals.
Delta already has a fully functional internal platform, SkyPulse, which provides broad operational insights across the airline. However, it does not include a dedicated catering dashboard that tracks passenger meal preferences, consumption habits, or waste data.
PLATFORM DESIGN
CLOSED LOOP DATA FLOW
SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
Project Coming Soon!
This Project has been shortlisted for Crystal Cabin Award 2026!
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PRODUCT DESIGN
UI/UX DESIGN
UX RESEARCH
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