Skift Take
Are you upset some airlines charge $3 for a soda? There's a reason prices are higher than at a convenience store. It's not easy or cheap to get provisions onto an aircraft.
The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of airline innovation. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-gen aviation industry.
We provide insights on need-to-know developments in passenger experience, ancillary services, revenue management, loyalty, technology, marketing, airport innovation, the competitive landscape, startups, and changing passenger behavior. The newsletter, sent on Wednesdays, is written and curated by me. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-generation aviation industry. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here.
United Airlines has been around for 90 years, and yet it’s still not sure of the most efficient number of Coca-Cola cans to board for each flight.
I tweeted this recently, after someone at United forwarded me catering news. “To help reduce unnecessary soda overstock, beginning Dec.1, we will reduce the amount of soda provisioned on all single-segment domestic flights,” United told employees, while promising it still seeks to “provide the right balance of beverages to meet customer demand.”
I bring this up because this week we published an interview with Anne De Hauw, vice president of innovation for Gate Group, the world’s largest caterer and airline retail company. Part of her job includes bringing true innovation to airline catering and retail, but much of it has another purpose — to help carriers reduce costs. On each meal served to a passenger, she said, “every penny [airlines] can reduce is significant.” That includes drinks.
We spoke about how some U.S. airlines have resumed free food service on longer domestic flights. But mostly, she said, the trend is going in the other direction, with airlines charging for meals. Her research tells her passengers in their 20s and 30s — the next-generation of important executives — don’t mind.
