A Major Airline Removed One Olive from First-Class Salads to Save $40,000
In 1987, American Airlines was searching for ways to cut costs without annoying its passengers. The company was under pressure to reduce expenses, but executives knew that big cuts could hurt service quality. So, they looked closely at every detail. That’s when they noticed something interesting in the catering budget: olives.
Each first-class salad came with a few olives. Nobody had ever questioned it. But someone did the math and realized that by removing just one olive from each salad, the airline could save about $40,000 a year. No one noticed the missing olive, and the savings added up. Passengers were happy, the food still looked great, and the airline’s profits improved. Adjusted for inflation, that same saving would equal roughly $100,000 today.
The Power Of Tiny Tweaks
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The “olive story” has become a favorite example in business discussions for good reason. It’s not about olives at all. It’s about the value of paying attention to what others overlook. Many companies chase big wins like massive projects or new technology, but real savings often come from simple adjustments hiding in plain sight.
Think about it like this: if a weekly task takes ten extra minutes longer than it should, that’s hours wasted by the end of the year. Streamline it once, and you’ve freed up a full workday without adding new resources. American Airlines proved that removing something unnecessary can generate lasting benefits. A single, well-thought-out change can quietly compound into significant gains over time.
Finding Your Olive
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This idea applies to almost any industry. Insurance brokers, for instance, have their own version of the olive: time. According to Broker Insights’ Andrea Wells, small time-saving changes can add up quickly. Automating repetitive tasks or focusing only on markets that are a good match for certain risks can save hours every week. Over a year, that adds up to weeks of regained productivity that can be redirected toward building stronger client relationships or commercial growth.
Even smarter communication tools can make a difference. The Vision platform helps brokers and insurers manage renewals directly, reducing administrative steps and freeing up more time for valuable client interactions. These aren’t sweeping transformations. They’re smart, simple improvements that make daily operations smoother and more effective.
Small Changes, Big Results
When people talk about innovation, they often imagine large, dramatic changes. But true operational excellence usually starts with observation and curiosity. Look at the small details. Where are the inefficiencies no one questions anymore? What’s the extra olive in your business that costs time or money but doesn’t add real value?
American Airlines didn’t have to redesign its menu or restructure its operations. It just needed to challenge an assumption. That questioning mindset can reshape how any organization approaches improvement.
More than 30 years later, the $40,000 olive story still matters because it reminds us that meaningful progress often comes from simple, data-driven decisions. That single change saved the airline the modern-day equivalent of six figures each year, all without affecting customer experience.
That’s the real message: thoughtful, minor adjustments can quietly create powerful results. So, find your olive. It could be an outdated process, an unnecessary report, or an extra step in a workflow. Removing it might just be the small decision that leads to a big difference.