BEER ONBOARD
u the smaller, quirky carriers – that’s
where niche beer brands have a chance,” says
airlinetrends.com’s Kollau. Take Alaska Airlines. Alongside
Budweiser and Miller Lite, it serves Alaskan Amber – based in Juneau, Alaska – on most routes and adds Kona Longboard Lager to/from Hawaii. “Part of our customer experience
focus is providing quality, local brands where possible. We find that many local breweries can meet our volume and pricing requirements,” says Lisa Luchau, the airline’s director of onboard food and beverage. And how does Alaskan Amber
compare to other beers served in terms of volumes consumed? “It’s the most popular by far,” says Luchau. New York-based Jet Blue currently
serves Blue Moon, Brooklyn Brewery’s Summer Ale and Samuel Adams Boston Lager alongside big name lagers, while Canada’s Porter Airlines offers Steam Whistle Pilsner, with both the airline and the beer based in Toronto. Spot the trend? California-based Virgin America
offers Bud Light, Heineken and Blue Moon, plus three local brands. “As San Francisco’s hometown airline we like to create a menu selection with a local flavour, and Gordon Biersch, Anchor Steam and 21st Amendment are based right in our backyard,” says a spokesperson for Virgin America. They add that 21st Amendment is onboard thanks to a passenger’s inflight tweet recommending the brewery. Another US carrier, Colorado’s
Frontier Airlines, has also benefitted from social media. Last year it asked Facebook users to vote for the local beer they most wanted to see onboard Frontier flights. Boulder Beer emerged as the winner and its Hazed & Infused
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"Part of our customer experience focus is providing quality, local brands where possible. We find that many local breweries can meet our volume and pricing needs"
very different challenge when it comes to its onboard beer selection. “We’re committed to offering
dry-hopped ale is now offered alongside Fat Tire Amber Ale – the flagship beer of Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company – plus Blue Moon and Coors Light. “We celebrate our home town by
boarding locally produced products, which extends to other beverage and food products too,” says the airline. Frontier Airlines’ annual passenger numbers are a little over ten per cent of those transported by American Airlines, a carrier that has a worldwide network of routes and vastly different economies of scale that present a
BRITISH ALE-WAYS
Pictured top: Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale; Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale; AB InBev's Budweiser and Stella Artois; Old Speckled Hen; MillerCoors' Blue Moon and Miller Lite; Samuel Adams Boston Lager; Heineken Pictured above: London-based Fuller's, brewers of London Pride
Catering to the tastes of the UK's real ale fans is British Airways, which has included Fuller’s London Pride in its beer proposition for several years. And, as Roger Craig of Inflight Initiatives points out, it’s a particularly good match as Fuller’s Griffin Brewery is just ten miles down the road from BA headquarters at London Heathrow. Craig approached Fuller’s several years ago about
selling London Pride to airlines. “I’m a London Pride drinker and I sell what I like to drink. Fuller’s liked the idea of getting it onboard but they’re a big business and it’s simpler to have an agent,” he says. “Beer onboard has traditionally meant lagers, but BA wanted to diversify and their demographics
said it should work. Ale drinkers tend to be slightly older and a more sophisticated drinker.” Elsewhere, Newcastle Brown Ale is offered on
some American Airlines routes and easyJet sells Old Speckled Hen, but ale is otherwise conspicuous for its absence on flights out of the UK. “We were approached by Greene King and thrilled to bits to take on Old Speckled Hen,” says Andrew Brown of Ratcliffe and Brown. “It is the number one premium ale in the UK and we thought it was a great idea to put it in 33cl cans. It will sell well and of course it tastes great too. “Ales are definitely becoming more popular. It’s a very British thing and people love them.”
beverages that transcend geographies while also paying homage to the uniqueness of particular routes when possible,” says Talia Castellanos, the airline's inventory manager, onboard products. AA serves Newcastle Brown Ale on some flights to/from the UK, for example, and is “considering adding craft beers and microbrews to its inflight beverage offerings”. Beer might not enjoy the same
elevated treatment as wine does by airlines – some bring in sommeliers to create a tailored selection matched to menus – but it’s a vital component of the onboard offering, and one that airlines are paying increasing attention. And as Samuel Adams founder and
chairman Jim Koch says, “I appreciate an airline that tends to the details of the consumer experience. They all get you from point A to point B safely and efficiently. It’s just nice to get there safely and efficiently with a good beer in your hand.” Cheers to that. •
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