Los Angeles Times
Starbucks recently announced the expansion of its massive caffeine-fueled empire to Norway, Morocco and even in the skies over North America.
This month, Alaska Airlines, based in Seattle, began serving Starbucks coffee to passengers free of charge.
For years the low-fare airline had served fliers hot joe from Seattle’s Best Coffee, a smaller coffee brewer owned by Starbucks’ parent company, Starbucks Corp. in Seattle.
Because Alaska Airlines has grown to serve 61 destinations — including new service this summer to Santa Barbara and Bozeman, Mont. — the carrier decided to switch to a coffee with national name recognition.
“We made a decision to go with the brand that is well known to our customers,” Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said.
The move also was made to offer a consistent coffee experience for passengers who fly Horizon Air, a subsidiary owned by Alaska’s parent company, Alaska Air Group. Horizon has been serving Starbucks for 22 years.
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