Delta and Alessi Partnership Makes In-Flight Cocktails Even Better
By Paul Brady. Photos: Courtesy Buzz Export Services.
“We wanted people to feel like they were in their favorite restaurant,” says Lisa Bauer, Delta's VP of onboard services, about the airline’s partnership with the iconic Italian design house to create a line of custom glassware, plates, utensils, and other service items. “I love the small wine carafe by Stefano Giovannoni,” Bauer says, though she’s also partial to the heart-shaped dessert spoon by Miriam Mirri.
The complete line of 86 pieces rolled out in first and business classes on April 1. Delta spent nearly three years and millions of dollars on the project, hoping to lure and keep design-conscious travelers (which, thanks to Apple, we all are at this point). Clever details like the space on an asymmetrical coffee saucer meant to hold an amaretto cookie, the hexagonal napkin ring that won’t roll off a tray table, and the tip-proof ceramic teapot will make eating and drinking in midair more enjoyable. In all, the airline is "adding more than nine million individual service pieces to our system," says Bauer, including items from Campana Brothers, Kristiina Lassus, Patricia Urquiola, and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. The changes should make flying a bit more dignified, because everyone knows a martini is that much more glamorous when it’s not served in a plastic cup.
This story originally appeared on Conde Nast Traveler.
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