Pepsi Takes Cola Wars to the Skies

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines will serve its passengers Pepsi and Diet Pepsi alongside Coca-Cola Co.’s sodas starting July 1, said Philip A. Marineau, New York-based PepsiCo Inc.’s new chief of domestic operations. He declined to state the value of the agreement with Fort Worth-based American, which has served Atlanta-based Coca-Cola’s soft drinks exclusively for about two decades. Marineau also indicated that Pepsi might even be prepared to give up its rights to be the only brand on an airline or in a store if the outlet asks. He said exclusive deals make sense in some cases and Pepsi would aggressively pursue them. “But if the pursuit of exclusivity becomes so dominant that it stops us from reaching consumers, then we probably need to do things a little differently,” he said. Polly Howes, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola, said, “We are confident that consumer demand for Coca-Cola products will continue to be sky-high on American Airlines.”