There’s no better way to kick off a vacation than by enjoying an adult beverage on the plane. But in spite of its booming popularity, hard seltzer fans have few options when it comes to imbibing inflight. 

In an effort to beat its main rival White Claw into this high-altitude airspace, Truly announced a partnership with JetBlue in November of  2019 in order to offer its seltzer to passengers. Officially the first airline to offer such an option, Truly Wild Berry Hard Seltzer is available on JetBlue flights for $8 per skinny can. 

Perpetually the Pepsi to White Claw’s Coke, being the first brand inflight was a significant milestone for Truly. “We couldn’t be more excited to be the first hard seltzer available at 35,000 feet and bring refreshment to the skies,” said Lesya Lysyj, chief marketing officer.  “Just like JetBlue, Truly is always looking for ways to innovate, push the status quo and deliver more of what drinkers and customers want, and we can’t think of a better partner for Truly’s first flight.”

While there is currently only one flavor available, the partnership between Truly and JetBlue still represented a significant milestone. American Airlines followed earlier this year with – you guessed it – Truly Wild Berry Hard Seltzer. 

Delta may have been the third airline to add seltzer to its menu, but the airline deserves points for expanded options. In March they started offering passengers two flavors of Bon & Viv: Grapefruit and Lemon-Lime. 

Just as more airlines were adding alcoholic bubbly water options to their menus, the novel coronavirus hit the US, forcing many people to cancel their travel plans in favor of social distancing. Not quite six months later, many consumers are still staying isolated when possible, and as a result airlines are struggling. 

In light of this decline in travel, we may see airlines seeking new ways to attract customers. Consumer demand for these low calorie, low alcohol sparkling waters continues to skyrocket as new brands enter the bubbly market regularly. With airlines suffering sluggish sales, it would make sense for them to make bold changes in order to entice reluctant customers back into the friendly skies.

Airlines and beverage companies have an interesting history of creating unique partnerships. For instance, Coca-Cola ventured into the vineyards and sold wine during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Under the Wine Spectrum label, Coca-Cola sold cans of wine on United Airlines flights. 

Even as American and Delta have followed suit, JetBlue gets credit for being the first to listen to their customers and innovate. 

“We are constantly listening to our customers and diversifying our inflight offerings to make sure we’re making the products they love on the ground available to them in the skies,” said Mariya Stoyanova, director of product development at JetBlue.  “Bringing Truly Hard Seltzer on board is another fun way to deliver on our promise of providing a preferred customer experience with our partners at The Boston Beer Company.”

Erin Grafton
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