Southwest Airlines needs to change the narrative surrounding its service.
The company, which built its reputation by being a passenger-first airline that offered clear pricing and friendly service, has become the airline known for stranding passengers during the past holiday season. On top of that, the airline has been dragged in front of Congress and faces contentious contract negotiations with the unions representing both its pilots and its flight attendants.
DON'T MISS: Southwest Airlines Making a Pricey Change Passengers Won't Like
In addition, the airline also recently changed how it charges for WiFi -- a move that will raise prices for passengers who want internet service across multiple segments of the same flight. That's a relatively minor change, but it's not exactly customer friendly in the way Southwest has previously operated (and it seemed like an oddly-timed move given the company's current public relations woes).
Now, the airline has made a beverage move that will be popular with passengers. It's also a change that no other airline has made, at least on a fleetwide basis.
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Southwest Airlines Adds Iced Coffee
Iced coffee has skyrocketed in popularity with Starbucks reporting that at least 60% of its coffee sales come from cold drinks. That's a trend that U.S. airlines have not kept up with as no domestic carrier offers iced coffee with the exception of Delta Airlines (DAL) which sells Explored Cold Brew Coffee on transcontinental trips and flights to Hawaii.
Southwest Airlines is changing that by adding Community Coffee’s Espresso + Cream iced coffee to all of its flights for a $4 charge.
"Community Coffee has been the official inflight coffee of Southwest Airlines since 2016, and we are excited to welcome this new drink onboard -- especially after learning from Mintel that 42% of Gen Z consumes cold coffee. Espresso + Cream will be served on 4,000 flights per day, spanning over 100 destinations in 42 states as well as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean," the company shared in a press release.
The airline's coffee partner, Community Coffee, will be supporting the launch by having personnel visit Southwest Airlines’ hub locations across the nation to introduce Espresso + Cream to flight crews.
Southwest picked this particular iced coffee for a specific reason which it shared in the press release.
"This product is the only coffee-forward (others lead with cream and sugar) and resealable espresso in the market -- making it the perfect in-air flight beverage for travelers to take on the go. Espresso + Cream is a great low-calorie option with all-natural ingredients and each bottle contains 120mg of natural caffeine and only 150 calories. It is served in 8oz bottles over ice," Southwest shared.
Iced Coffee Is a Growing Trend
Adding iced coffee to its flights is obviously a very small step in winning back customers, but it's a smart move by the airline given current trends. Former Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson shared just how big the numbers had grown to during the chain's third-quarter 2021 earnings call.
"We continue to see strong demand for Starbucks Cold Brew, Nitro Cold Brew, and Starbucks Refresher beverages, while ice shaken espresso alone contributed more than a third of the iced espresso growth in the quarter. The cold category represented 74% of beverage sales in Q3, growing 10 percentage points over the past two years," he shared.
Dutch Bros. reports that cold drinks make up 70%-80% of its beverages while Bad Ass Coffee sets the number at 58%, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf said its cold coffee sales are roughly 70% of its beverage sales, QSR Magazine reported.
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