ANA first airline to serve freshly tapped beer in-flight

19 July 2010 | Airlines are increasingly making an effort to use fresh ingredients in their in-flight meals, or try to figure out ways to prepare parts of the menu freshly on board. For example, ANA, JAL and Cathay Pacific serve freshly cooked rice in-flight, using an onboard rice cooker. Cathay Pacific long-haul aircraft also have a toaster oven and an espresso machine on board, while kitchens on SWISS aircraft and Lufthansa’s new A380 are equipped with an in-flight Nespresso machine. 

Now, All Nippon Airways (ANA) is taking its in-flight beverage service up a notch by serving freshly tapped beer on select flights. ANA is the first airline to offer beer on tap during flights. Draft beer comes out of a keg, using highly pressurized carbon dioxide gas, and couldn’t be served before because airlines are prohibited from bringing high-pressure gas cylinders onboard due to safety regulations. ANA worked with ice machine and refrigeration specialist Hoshizaki Electric to develop a special beer dispenser that uses carbon dioxide gas vaporized from dry ice to power the mini beer kegs.

Starting July 20, 2010, ANA will offer the service mainly on domestic flights linking Okinawa with other parts of Japan. At ¥1,000 (USD11, EUR9) a glass, the price is comparable to a beer in most Tokyo bars. Just 20 glasses of draft beer will be available per flight, except on the B777/747-operated Tokyo to Okinawa flights, which will offer 40 glasses. The new draft beer service is part of ANA’s ‘My Choice’ ancillary revenues program. 

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