In-Flight Food Fight : Name-Brand Products Battle It Out for Presence on Airlines

Coffee, tea--or Evian?

Ever since the bottled water company struck a marketing deal with American Airlines, Evian is water du jour on all American flights. United Airlines passengers, meanwhile, can now order special McDonald’s kids meals on flights out of Chicago--and eventually from coast to coast.

Suddenly, name-brand food served in flight is not just pie-in-the-sky. Through marketing arrangements that it won’t discuss, United is also serving Dom Perignon champagne and Godiva chocolates to its first-class passengers. And it is talking with Mrs. Fields about serving her famous chocolate chip cookies to all customers.

American Airlines, meanwhile, is negotiating with Weight Watchers to offer special meals to its fliers. And familiar treats such as TCBY frozen yogurt are now routinely served on its domestic flights. U.S. Air serves Chipwich ice cream sandwiches to its passengers. And later this month, McDonald’s will even attach dining cars to two Swiss Federal Railways trains.

As a way to attract business, major airlines are starting to dish out some of the most familiar names in food. With air travel down and competition as fierce as it has ever been, airlines have turned to makers of branded foods as an edge in a fierce marketplace.

Meanwhile, food companies recognize that they have a unique opportunity to market their products to often upscale, captive audiences in the sky--and food makers are increasingly taking advantage of the chance to reach them. Several fast-food companies--including Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken--said they too will consider serving their products at 30,000 feet.

“Anything that can be imagined will be tried as airlines search for any kind of marketing advantage,” said Joe Brancatelli, executive editor of Frequent Flyer magazine. “These brands are part of the air we breath--now they’ll be part of the flights we fly. But this is not being done because consumers asked for it. It’s just another chance to market to consumers. It’s a form of subliminal advertising.”

Advertising on airplanes has become a booming industry in itself. Besides the name-brand products that are distributed, passengers are seeing an array of advertisements before and after most shows that are projected on airplane screens. When American Airlines changed its fare structure last month, it broadcast a promotional video from its chairman on most flights. And on United Flights that serve McDonald’s meals, some flight attendants wear badges that promote McDonald’s.

“I think this is not a good direction,” said Al Ries, chairman of the Greenwich, Conn-based marketing firm, Trout & Ries. “An airline could probably make greater points by doing away with food service entirely and focusing on flying efficiently.”

At least one major airline says it will not mimic the United/McDonald’s link-up. “We have no plans to copy them,” said Charles Doherty, director of dining services at Delta. He stated concerns about the quality of food that is cooked twice.

United, however, is plowing ahead with its Mc-marketing.

“If it were up to us, we’d like to expand the McDonald’s program to all airports in North America quickly,” said Kurt Lackner, worldwide director of food and beverages for United. But McDonald’s is very finicky about the quality, so the national rollout will take time, he said.

Why is United so anxious to expand the program? “It’s something we can do for our customers that the other guys can’t,” said Lackner, who noted that the arrangement with McDonald’s is exclusive. McDonald’s hamburgers are also available to adult passengers. And the airline is now testing in-flight Chicken McNuggets too, he said.

As for the fancy foods fed to first class passengers, well, United’s annual report speaks to that issue. “Small amounts of money, applied with a dash of creativity, go a long way in uplifting consumer perception of a carrier,” it says. “An offer of a Godiva chocolate at the end of a meal is a gracious, yet an inexpensive, touch.”

Meanwhile, American Airlines is frantically trying to counterpunch the United/McDonald’s matchup. But instead of linking up with the likes of a Burger King, it is negotiating with Weight Watchers. “It’s a recognizable name,” said Maureen Wolf, manager of menu design for American. She said passengers who order low calorie meals in flight “have no idea” what the calorie content is of the meals they are served. They would, she said, with Weight Watchers.

Kraft General Foods also has a year-old marketing agreement with American. Everything from its Philadelphia Cream Cheese to Maxwell House coffee is served in flight. The products are always served in packages with the labels prominently displayed. And the coffee is sometimes served in plastic cups that say “Maxwell House.”

“It gives us a significant number of people who are exposed to--and who sample--our products,” said Kathy Knuth, a spokeswoman for Kraft. About 85 million passengers fly on American flights annually. After people sample Kraft products on the plane, Knuth said, “hopefully they’ll look for them in the supermarket.”

Of course, airlines aren’t the only ones who feed travelers. So do trains. Less than two weeks from now, McDonald’s restaurants on wheels will begin rolling on trains that travel two Swiss Federal Railways routes. The dining cars will have large McDonald’s logos on the outside.

Is Amtrack next? “No one has approached us,” an Amtrack spokeswoman said. “Remember, food can be sitting on a train for two days. Fast food is not designed to hold that long.”

Briefly...

Bud Light officials have changed their minds and--despite the recent riots--have decided to go ahead and film humorous “Bud Light Spotlight on Los Angeles” commercials. . . . Los Angeles-based Larsen Colby has reached an undisclosed agreement with Grey Advertising to regain majority control of the firm, and co-founder Gary Larsen will leave the agency. . . . The Los Angeles PR firm Ruder-Finn will acquire, for an undisclosed sum, the PR firm Lewis & Associates. . . . Dennis Holt, president of Western International Media of Los Angeles, has been named by Peter Ueberroth to oversee the ad and media placement for the city’s “Rebuild L.A.” campaign. . . . Admarketing President Jack Roth and Chairman Robert Recht have filed a $3-million suit alleging violation of securities laws by Paul Reisbord, chairman of C&R; Clothiers. . . . The 1991 Magazine Publisher’s Assn. Kelly Award dinner is scheduled tonight at the Pacific Design Center . . . The L.A. Ad Club on Wed., May 27, at noon at the Beverly Hilton, will sponsor a live “Rebuild L.A.” radio talk show hosted by Michael Jackson.

Name-Brand Dining on the Move Several domestic airlines and one international rail company have begun to serve brand-name foods to their passengers--a big growth area as airlines eventually replace their own often-criticized offerings with foods customers prefer.

United Airlines: McDonald’s “Friendly Skies,” meals on selected flights, Godiva chocolates* (samples), Dom Perignon champagne* (future possibilities include McDonald’s meals on all flights, Mrs. Fields cookies, Healthy Choice sliced meats)

American Airlines: Kraft Foods (including Maxwell House coffee and Bull’s-Eye barbecue sauce), Godiva chocolates* (samples), Pepperidge Farm cookies, ICBY frozen yogurt, Evian bottled water (future possibility is Weight Watchers foods)

U.S. Air: Chipwich ice cream sandwiches

Sabena Belgina World Airlines: Godiva chocolates*

Swiss Federal Railways: Two McDonald’s dining cars on trains (to begin operation May 31)

*Only for first-class or business-class passengers