airline food

Coffee news: Alaska Airlines to swap Starbucks for Stumptown

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For years, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has been brewing and pouring Seattle-based Starbucks coffee on Alaska and Horizon Airlines flights.

But on or around December 1, 2023, the in-flight coffee will switch over to a custom roast from Portland-based Stumptown Coffee that’s a spinoff of Stumptown’s best-selling Holler Mountain.

Alaska says its custom Stumptown blend was specially crafted to be enjoyed at 30,000 feet, where tastebuds react differently. And that it was approved only after months of development and in-flight testing.

That’s how serious Alaska Airlines – and travelers – are about coffee.

“Alaska’s medium-dark blend uses the same clean and sweet base as Holler Mountain, but with a primary focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates,” the airline said in a statement. “It’s exceptionally smooth and balanced, with aromatic notes of toasted marshmallows, browned butter, and toffee with delicate hints of citrus and cherry. Additionally, Stumptown dialed in this roast to be delicious when served black or with the addition of creamer or oat milk” which is also offered on Alaska flights.

We’ll reserve judgment until we taste the coffee for ourselves. With and without those tiny Biscoff cookies.

Travel Tidbits from Here and There

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As another month of being grounded kicks in, here are some travel tidbits that got our attention.

Delta Air Lines’ “No Mask- No Fly” list is growing

If the rule is “Wear a mask when you’re on the plan,” then we’re all for passengers being put on no-fly lists if they don’t comply.

Delta Air Lines says it now has about 130 people on its “no mask – no-fly” list.

Miss airline food? This company will sell you some

Tamam Kitchen, which provides in-flight meals for Israel’s El Al airlines, Turkish Airlines and some other international carriers that fly out of Tel Aviv, is selling its meals to people on the ground.

The Future of Business Travel

We found some interesting insights about what business travel might look like in the future in a new global survey from SAP Concur, a company that tracks business expenses for companies.

96% of business travelers surveyed expect their employer to make critical changes when travel resumes.

Those changes include mandatory personal health screenings for traveling employees (39%), limiting business travel to only the most business-critical trips (39%), and easier access to PPE like gloves or facemasks (33%).

What is the plan if employers do not make changes?

65% of respondents intend to act if their employer does not make these changes:

Nearly one in five (18%) plan to look for a new role inside or outside the company that does not require travel. That number is higher in the U.S., where nearly one in four (23%) plan to consider new roles that do not require travel if their concerns are not addressed.

Where do you stand on these questions?

Edible coffee cups on Air New Zealand

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Edible cups on your airplane?  Air New Zealand gives it a try.

Airlines are joining the waste reduction movement with aggressive recycling efforts and sustainability campaigns that include avoiding plastic straws and single-use dining items.

Now Air New Zealand, which currently serves, more than eight million cups of coffee, is running a tasty test: edible coffee cups.

Air New Zealand’s current cups are compostable, but they still end up in landfills.

So, the airline is doing a trial campaign of serving coffee and desserts in vanilla-flavored, leakproof, edible cups made by New Zealand company ‘twiice’.

Customers on the ground and in the air are being served coffee and ice-cream in these edible cups.

Sounds yummy, right?

The ‘twiice’ edible cup trial goes with Air New Zealand’s recent switch to plant-based cups on board all aircraft and in lounges. Those cups, made from paper and corn instead of plastic, can break down in a commercial composter and are expected to keep about 15 million cups from going to landfill annually.