Expanding on an earlier deal that had Starbucks name-brand coffee served on certain West Coast shuttle routes and flights from New York’s JFK to California, Delta Air Lines says it will now be serving Starbucks coffee on all its flights, which is about 5,000 flights daily.
The two companies already had a partnership in place, as Delta served Starbucks-owned Seattle’s Best Coffee on its flights since 2011, notes Reuters, but it will now be switching to the Starbucks brand for all customers.
Customers will have the option of Pike Place Roast and VIA Ready Brew Italian roast decaf in co-branded cups.
This is just one part of Delta’s efforts to team up with other brands to lure in customers, including gate-to-gate Porsche service at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
“Going forward we’ll be able to look at other parts of the travel experience, be it on the ground in our Sky Clubs or in other parts of the journey,” said Mike Henny, Delta’s director of onboard customer experience.
It’s worth noting that Alaska Airlines already has served Starbucks on its planes since 2012, so this brings the heat of competition on even more between the two airlines. And it’s likely that other airlines will want to follow suit — something Starbucks would consider.
“We’ll continue to evaluate opportunities as they come to us in the airline and other sectors,” said Michelle Burns, vice president of branded solutions at Starbucks.
Delta Air Lines expands partnership with Starbucks [Reuters]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
No comments:
Post a Comment