AirTran Airways serves Coca-Cola’s Fresca as complimentary beverage aboard all it flights
AirTran Airways, the low-cost carrier based in Orlando, Florida, the United States, has included the popular citrus beverage Fresca of Coca-Cola as complimentary drink to all passengers aboard all of its flights.
In a statement, Tad Hutcheson, vice-president of marketing and sales for AirTran Airways, said that the airline “continues to delight and surprise our customers with new flavours and types of beverages.”
“Fresca,” Hutcheson added, “has a loyal fan base among Coca-Cola and customers of AirTran Airways.”
AirTran Airways said the calorie-free Fresca would become the 21st beverage of the Coca-Cola Company to be made available as complimentary to all passengers.
AirTran also said it was the first airline in the world to have served on board Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola with Lime, Minute Maid Lemonade, Dasani Water, Vanilla Coke, and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke.
The other Coca-Cola products served on AirTran Airways’ flights as complimentary beverages include Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke Zero as well as three types of Minute Maid juices.
AirTran, which has its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, near Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Incorporated.
- US Airways to resume serving non-alcoholic drinks free of charge on board from March 1, 2009US Airways, the low-cost airline based in Tempe, Arizona, the United States, will resume serving non-alcoholic drinks such as sodas, coffee, tea, juices and bottled water to economy-class passengers free of charge from March 1, 2009. However, the carrier will continue to charge fees for some other items, including in-flight blankets and pillows. Also, US Airways will continue to charge alcoholic drinks at $7 each. US Airways was the only major domestic airline based in the United States that started charging for non-alcoholic drinks, from August 1, 2008 – at the rate of $2 for sodas and juices and $1 for coffee. The carrier had also jacked up prices of beer, wine and cocktails from $5 to $7 from the same date. It may be noted that flight attendants at US Airways had opposed charging passengers for non-alcoholic beverages on the ground that the responsibility for selling them in-flight and dealing with “unhappy passengers” hindered their ability to ensure safety in the cabin. Doug Parker, chief executive officer of US Airways, said in a statement that making passengers pay for sodas, coffee, tea, juices and bottled water had become “a competitive disadvantage” for the airline. US Airways, Parker explained, was compelled to add the fees in August 2008 after the price of aviation turbine fuel skyrocketed to a record $4.36 a gallon in July 2008. The cost of fuel has since dropped by as much as 70%. The statement said US Airways was “committed to its a la carte service style” where passengers pay more to check bags into the hold or for the use of a blanket and pillow. US Airways had earlier said that it expected to earn $400 million to $500 million in 2009 from fees charged on any services beyond the basic fare, including additional costs for select seats and also the plan to sell pillows and blankets in-flight. The fees for non-alcoholic beverage, Doug Parker said in the statement, had become “a focal point that detracts from improved on-time performance and baggage-handling.” Meanwhile, the United States Transportation Department said in a press release that US Airways recorded the best on-time performance in 2008 among the six large US-based airlines that use hub airports as a part of their networks. Earlier, US Airways had ranked either last or near-last in terms of on-time performance.
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