KLM - Heineken On Draft

KLM - Heineken On Draft

Dutch flagship carrier KLM has teamed-up with famous Dutch beer-maker Heineken to steal headlines with the unveiling of the world’s first ever in-flight draught beer – poured from a specialized beverage trolley and served to business passengers.

While it is not unusual for an airline to work with major beer producers (or indeed smaller craft breweries ) on joint marketing campaigns, this partnership clearly breaks the mould when we look at the significant level of research and development that went into it.

Historically, any efforts to serve draught beer at altitude have been unsuccessful. This is because air pressure in the cabin is far lower than what we have on the ground. This pressure differential always resulted in pints of foam when pouring was attempted with a standard Co2-operated keg tap. The solution for KLM and Heineken was to redesign the pumping mechanism to use air pressure instead of Co2, and to drastically reduce the dimensions of this new mechanism so it could fit inside a standard Atlas trolley.

As with the introduction of any new equipment onboard, this specialized beer trolley must pass certification with aviation authorities, and this process has already caused some delays in launch, which is currently scheduled for August on select routes.

While publications like The Independent , Conde Nast Traveller and Europe Business Review have nice things to say about this project, the initiative has caused controversy amongst die-hard beer lovers who worry that the taste will be inferior 30,000 feet up. Time will tell if they are right once the initiative launches, but in the meantime KLM has again succeeded in rolling out an initiative that has generated media exposure worldwide.