National coffee powerhouse Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) expanded its reach into the skies Wednesday with the announcement of a new airline partnership.
Alaska Airlines, the nation�s seventh-largest airline, will begin serving complimentary Starbucks coffee starting Wednesday on all of its flights. Its sister carrier, Horizon Air — also owned by Alaska Airlines parent Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) — has been serving Starbucks on its flights for more than 20 years.
The move is part of a larger initiative by Alaska Airlines to improve its in-flight fare. It also has added products such as Beecher�s cheese, Tim�s Cascade potato chips and Alaskan Amber beer.
Alaska Airlines isn�t the first major carrier to partner with Starbucks, however. United Continental�s (NYSE:UAL) United Airlines has been serving the Seattle brew since 1995, and Japanese giant All Nippon Airways (PINK:ALNPY) began carrying it in 2010. And starting March 2011, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) has offered Starbucks� Seattle�s Best Coffee brand java on all its flights.
Starbucks also has made a host of other partnerships closer to the ground over the years. Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) bookstores and Kroger (NYSE:KR) grocery locations tout in-store Starbucks bars, and in 2010, Starbucks opened a location on Royal Caribbean International�s (NYSE:RCL) Allure of the Seas. More recently, Starbucks partnered with India�s Tata Coffee in hopes of gaining a foothold in the large emerging market.
– Kyle Woodley, InvestorPlace.com Assistant Editor
No comments:
Post a Comment