ANA becomes 1st airline to make draft beer available in-flight
TOKYO —
All Nippon Airways on Wednesday became the first airline to make draft beer available on tap during domestic flights. Because the pressurized gas required to dispense the beer from kegs is prohibited on flights, ANA teamed up with Hoshizaki Denki to develop a server that uses gas from dry ice instead.
The drinks will be available after 5 p.m. on select flights from Naha to Haneda, Osaka, Kansai, Chubu and Fukuoka airports, as well as flights from Haneda to Sapporo and Fukuoka. The beer will be available for 1,000 yen with snacks and limited to 20 glasses per flight on most trips.
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27 Comments
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0
kyoken
Is this 20 glasses per person, per flight?
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Tokyoapple
1000 yen? And you know they'll screw you out of actual beer by making the head take up a third of the glass like they do everywhere else in this country.
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some14some
Choice is yours Jiman or Gaman (pride or patience) !
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kevinintokyo
1000 yen per GLASS.... That's fairly expensive for less that 350ml. The flight are only a couple of hours. I'll wait.
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chuckers
Pretty sure it is 20 glasses per flight total. If you aren't at the front of the plane, waving your Noguchi's around, you are SOL.
At 1000 yen a glass, I will still to the stuff that comes out of cans. Assuming of course, I actually drank beer. Blech!
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ebisen
On most European airlines you can get it canned and free and probably tasting better, even in economy class...
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larguero
Great development! Remember it is the only airline that offers this. Therefore, 1000 yen does not seem too much.
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Airion
Does draft beer really taste that much better?
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alladin
I won`t be flying on ANA anytime soon. I would hate to sit next to a drunk that smells bad while I am in flight.
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ebisen
alladin - trust me, the beer smell is the least of your worries during a long flight, and some other smells humans naturally generate when crowded in a very confined space will probably cover it anyway...
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genji17
Good or bad yet another reason to not fly Delta!
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my2sense
As an airline alcoholic I dig it. 1000 yen is a bit steep and greedy but hey whats new.
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Northman
Very interesting conception. but,I think that the price is too high. If the technology advances, does it become cheap?
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m5c32
20 glasses? How do they even break even on the beer? More like a marketing gimmick.
Why don't they just take out a row of seats and set up an in-flight pole dancer?
(Pole/pollack is ok, btw.)
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Bogi
Mmm... I think you might be on to something there.
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bicultural
1000 yen for a beer and snacks. What kind of "snacks?"
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m5c32
Scooby snacks.
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kawachi
As much as I love ANA, they are NOT the first airline to offer draft beer on their flights. Lufthansa actually offered it in their Senator Class cabin in the 50's and TWA, Continental and Sabena offered it in the '70s.
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DarkKnightNine
Pressurized Beer Canisters on a flight?! No thanks! I think I'll fly JAL from now on.
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SumoBob
Kawachi & Darkknight,
While the article could be clearer (athough the above quote does mention it), the point is that ANA is the first airline to offer draught beer using a new technology that is considered safe for operating on a airplane. Others have done it before in the past, but none since regulations severely restricting pressurised gas containers came into effect.
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Cliffy
People get drunk + motion sickness. That will be a sight. I hope they also stock enough barf bags and air freshens.
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lemur
Very few people here know how to pull a pint, so let me be cynical and say that these 20 glasses will be cut down to 15 with spillage, spillage, and more spillage. Maybe the air hostesses can then slop it up and sell it to economy class for a more reasonable ¥500?
And what is this annointed beer to be? Asahi SD? Kirin IBS? Never mind, there both reminiscent of amorous adventures in a canoe.
But the tech is cool. Makes me wish I'd bought Hoshizaki stock when I had the intuition a couple months ago. Oh well. I can only hope this nudges 9202.t back over 350. (Hey, a man can dream...)
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YuriOtani
Laughs, the beer they sell is usually old stock. Snacks are included in the 500 yen price per can. A notable mark up over any store. Still remember buying some ice cream on a ANA flight and think the stuff was older than the flight attendant selling it. This draft beer ideal was probably used a justification for someones higher than usual bonus. It will stop the first time a keg breaks loose spraying down the galley and flight attendants in beer.
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samwatters
"Pressurized Beer Canisters on a flight?! No thanks! I think I'll fly JAL from now on"
Nope, they're using dry ice; pressurized tanks are illegal on an airplane!
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motogaijin
I could personally never pay 1,000 yen for an Asahi/Kirin/Sapporo quality beer. No mass produced, watery, urine-colored beer for me. IPA? APA? Stout? Maybe.
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Patrick Smash
m5c32,
Could you please pack in whatever you are doing and start up an airline.
Thank you.
Paddy Smash
0
Sarge
Choice #1: Getting a draft beer from a smiling ANA flight attendant without having to pay her $5
Choice #2: Getting a can of beer from a scowling Delta/United/American flight attendant after paying $5
I'll go with Choice #1.
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