The Last Straw
Following the lead of some cities and a variety of hotels, resorts and restaurant chains, American Airlines announced a plan to stop using plastic straws in drinks in both its airport lounges and on its planes.

As of July, biodegradable, eco-friendly straws and wood stir sticks are used instead of plastic straws in the carrier’s lounges. The switchover from plastic straws to sustainable and environmentally friendly bamboo straws and stir sticks is planned for all American Airlines planes in November. The airline expects to eliminate more than 71,000 pounds of plastic per year.

American is not the first airline to dump plastic straws and stir sticks. Noting it used 22 million non-recyclable plastic straws and stir sticks last year alone, in May, Alaska Airlines decided this summer the airline would switch over to sustainable, marine-friendly straws and stirrers on all domestic and international flights and in its lounges.

Parting With Peanuts
Citing concerns about passengers who suffer from peanut allergies, Southwest Airlines will stop serving tiny snack bags of peanuts as of Aug. 1, but will continue to hand out complimentary pretzels.

Peanut fans and the National Peanut Board are disappointed, but “We hope that our free pretzels (and the wonderful portfolio of free snacks on longer flights), served along with our legendary Southwest Hospitality, will please customers who might be nostalgic or sad to see peanuts go,” the carrier said in a statement, “Our ultimate goal is to create an environment where all customers — including those with peanut-related allergies — feel safe and welcome on every Southwest flight.”