Craft Beer Takes Flight: Airlines Hop On Board the Brewing Revolution
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APEX Insight: The microbrewery revolution is taking hold in the skies, as airlines add craft beers to in-flight menus. Delta offers craft ales haling from some of the cities it flies to, while SAS partnered with a Copenhagen-based brewery to produce a mango-infused sweet and sour beer inspired by Cantonese cuisine. By offering unique microbrews, airlines aim to differentiate their brand and attract high-paying craft beer-drinking customers.
Among the uninformed, American beer was the butt of many a joke. Not anymore. In recent years, thousands of craft beer pubs have popped up across the US, serving everything from hoppy IPAs to toasted oat coffee stouts. The bland lagers haven’t disappeared, but America’s artisan beer makers have been brewing up a hoppy revolution that’s not only taken hold on the ground, but up in the skies too.
The trend caught the attention of airlines such as Delta Air Lines, who this year began offering a range of seven US regional craft beers on US domestic flights, each originating in one of its destinations. On the airline’s flights from New York to west coast cities, passengers can sample a range of standout brews such as “Sculpin India Pale Ale,” a gold medal-winning beer with notes of lemon, mango and peach, from San Diego-based brewers Ballast Point.
Other US carriers serve in-flight brews originating from their home territory, as a way to forge a sense of local identity with their home cities. Alaska Airlines for example, partners with the Alaskan Brewing Company to serve its American Pale Ale and Amber Ales during in-flight service, with Porter, JetBlue and Virgin America also offering beers from their respective hub cities.
Industry growth and expanded capacity mean more brewers are now able to offer their product in the safe and stackable can sizes preferred for in-flight catering.
The move towards airlines offering craft ales on board makes business sense too. It turns out the people drinking craft are the same ones flying regularly – those with full time jobs, university education and earning higher incomes. Offering unique microbrewery beers can attract high-paying passengers and works to differentiate an airline’s brand.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is another airline to adopt this approach, partnering with Mikkeler, a Copenhagen-based microbrewery. The Danish craft beer company has produced four exclusive beers for the Scandinavian airline, their latest incarnation is a sweet and sour Belgian ale, fermented in mango juice for business class passengers on board its flights to and from Hong Kong – something SAS markets as a unique selling point to promote the non-stop route.
Until recently, the majority of craft beers were packaged exclusively in bottles, uneconomical for airlines looking to save weight wherever possible. But industry growth and expanded capacity mean more brewers are now able to offer their product in the safe and stackable can sizes preferred for in-flight catering.
Although the microbrewery industry boom doesn’t look to be over anytime soon, it could be a while longer before craft beer is commonly served on board long-haul flights. Artisanal ales are often more expensive to brew and trickier to produce in quantities demanded on board international routes, which rely on serving mainstream lager brands. Nonetheless, there’s never been a wider choice of brews available for the discerning beer drinking flyer.