Reader Mark shares their experience at the gate for a flight from Charlotte to Liberia, Costa Rica. The flight was delayed because a pilot was stuck in line at the nearby Starbucks.
[W]e hear them paging Captain DeWalt. Then 5 or 10 minutes later, we again hear them paging Captain DeWalt. We grumble about how that is typical American that they don’t even have their pilot to leave. Another few minutes go by.
I go use the restroom and when walking back to the gate, it turns out that I’m walking next to Captain DeWalt. He was late from being in the Starbucks line. When he got to the gate, he and the gate agent chuckled, but I thought to myself what kind of respect do you have for the customer when you make an entire plane of passengers late, so you can get a Starbucks cup of coffee. Or maybe that also tells you what pilots think of AA coffee.
I don’t blame the pilot. I blame American Airlines. Mark actually hints at what’s going on, this “tells you what pilots think of AA coffee.” And I’ve been writing for over a decade that American’s poor coffee was hurting their operational reliability because they forced pilots to go get coffee on their own. That means the cost savings on coffee turned out to be penny wise, pound foolish – even before you get to the customer experience.
Fortunately, that’s changing this quarter! It’s the hidden reason why airline coffee matters, and why American Airlines made such a mistake for so long shaving cost on its coffee quality.
- Better coffee improves operational efficiency and reduced delays, because it eliminates pilots stopping at Starbucks in the terminal on the way to the aircraft.
- And it improves employee morale, which in turn affects customer service. Better coffee is a product flight attendants can be proud of and reduces complaints they receive from customers.
Better coffee was the first singal of the turnaround at United Airlines, dropping Fresh Brew for Illy. A year ago I wrote that American absolutely needed to follow suit if they were going to ‘pivot to premium’. And they did, announcing Lavazza in the fall. And we started seeing Lavazza coffee rolling out in American Airlines lounges in February.
Ultimately, coffee is a tiny spend relative to airline revenue, but it matters for premium signaling, crew pride, and operational reliability because pilots and crew are less likely to make terminal coffee stops.
In 2015, I estimated a $5–10 million a year coffee expense for American Airlines and last fall suggested probably $10 million-plus. I’ve heard nothing to suggest that’s off by orders of magnitude. The shift to Lavazza won’t reduce that number, but probably doesn’t move the needle materially, either. If American is spending more, it might be low single digit millions a year.
- United said its illy program involved 72 million inflight cups a year
- Delta said moving from Seattle’s Best to Starbucks cost them more, but did not reveal a figure.
- Lavazza is in premium coffee territory compared to commodity coffee pricing they’d have been getting before
- But Lavazza said the American deal helps it consolidate its presence in the U.S. market, so it meets a brand objective – the tie-in is going to mean much better economics for the airline.
Lavazza is likely cheap relative to the brand value American gets from it. They’re not just buying coffee, they’re buying a more premium feel for a few extra cents per cup. And the surprise benefit is likely to be better operational performance.
Starbucks feelin’ more like McDonalds these days anyway…
I had the same thing happen only it was a flight attendant that we were waiting for. Simply ridiculous!
The quality of AA coffee and the pilot’s tardiness are two seperate issues. A professional shows up for work on time.
Most coffee provided by companies suck. AA is not unique. If the pilot did not have or give enough time for Starbucks (usually staffed by not the brightest) he should have just dealt with the crappy inflight coffee.
Mark F is absolutely correct on this. Poor judgment by this pilot. I’m sure his / supervisor will debrief this.
Blaming and or excusing deplorable customer service on the quality, or lack of, coffee is right out of the funny pages – Looney Tunes segment! Gimme a break!
@TW — Yeah, this pilot may be soon be saying… That’s all folks!
I have been delayed awaiting crew on AA (usually at DFW) when they are connecting between flights.
The crew then show up with take out food. I’m not really blaming them. They have to eat and I guess AA doesn’t give them meals any longer (at least the flight attendants) but it certainly isn’t a good look.
Oh come on Gary. One more just miserable way to rip on AA. No AA defended here but this is a bit a of stretch. Maybe the pilot wanted an ice coffee, maybe not even a coffee but a lemon loaf. To go back and say this is because of AA’s coffee selection (which we all know sucks and we all know you hate it too) is just a bit too far, don’t you think? Next all of AA’s operational issues are due to poor coffee causing crew to stop along the way?
Gary Leff reports, “American Airlines Delayed A Flight Because The Pilot Was Stuck In Line At Starbucks.” Yes, that’s right—apparently, the pilot’s caffeine addiction has officially made it into the flight delay playbook.
Fortunately, American Airlines now lets passengers know exactly why their flight is delayed, which is both informative and, in this case, unintentionally hilarious. Here’s a prime example: On April 3rd (Good Friday), I purchased airfare on American Airlines, flight AA 3397 from DTW to ORD, operated by Envoy Air as American Eagle. Ambitiously, I planned to fly from ORD to MCI for a meeting, return to DCA, and then fly back to Detroit the same day. This itinerary is now sponsored by coffee.
Naturally, American Airlines sent a message explaining the delay. Instead of saying the Captain was chasing down a venti caramel macchiato, AA kept it professional: “Your flight from Detroit to Chicago is delayed as your crew completes the required rest period to operate your flight. We’re sorry for the disruption to your travel plans. American Airlines Flight 3397 now departs at 6:48 am on April 3, from Date D27. You can check the American app for more information, and we’ll keep you updated on any changes to your trip. We appreciate your patience as we get you on your way.”
Later, I received another message informing me that I would misconnect in Chicago. To get to MCI on time, I had American endorse my ticket to Delta for their direct flight DTW-MCI, but, alas, I lost my first-class upgrade. Moral of the story: never get between a pilot and his Starbucks.
In the future, I fully expect American Airlines to message passengers with something like: “Your flight from Detroit to Chicago is delayed because your pilot requires his Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino with extra whipped cream and a caramel drizzle to achieve maximum alertness. Safety first! After all, you don’t want a groggy captain accidentally flying you to Cleveland. We’re sorry for the disruption to your travel plans, but rest assured, your crew will be sufficiently caffeinated and possibly bouncing off the cockpit walls. American Airlines Flight 3397 now departs at 6:48 am on April 3, from Gate D27 (don’t worry, the pilot won’t spill his frappuccino on your luggage we forced you to gate check). You can check the American app for more information, and we’ll keep you updated on any changes to your trip. We appreciate your patience as we wrangle your pilot away from the pastry case.”
@1990
What you really meant was Charbucks. And as for the supposed premium airline, Delta, going with Charbucks is a bonehead move. Did they really think that switching to Charbucks would buy them gravitas in Seattle. After all, it was Seattle people that came up with that name.
Maybe they should just serve roast goose.
I mean Gary’s not wrong on a macro level. Here’s a life or death scenario! https://www.beachesofnormandy.com/didyouknow/Did_you_know_how_tea_influenced_armored_warfare/?id=fdb2269edf
I used to have coffee for the crew of my first flight of the day at 515am with a show time of 430am and the coffee shop wasn’t opened yet. Man, I miss those days!!!
Does anyone else get a free pass to show up late for work if it’s because they wanted to grab food or coffee on the way in?
Not agreed on this one, Gary. Almost all travel blogs point out that the main reason onboard coffee is sketchy is because the water onboard is equally sketchy. Switching to any other brand (even Starbucks) isn’t going to change that one bit. What I would want to see are those 5-gallon jugs of Spring Water in the galley, that’s what would make a good cup of coffee. All of that said, I’ll admit that Starbucks is a love-it or leave-it taste, I’m in the former camp and even purchased enough Starbucks equities for the dividend to pay for my annual Starbucks budget (less guilt that way). As for drinks onboard AA flights, anything after noon and I’m going with the Heineken.