Continental Airlines said Wednesday it will begin selling “specialty cocktails” on its flights.
Continental said it has partnered with Stirrings, a cocktail mixer brand, to offer its mojito and pomegranate martini, and with Red Bull to offer the energy drink. All three will be offered with alcohol for $9 apiece or without for $3.
Airline companies, which have struggled during the recession, have looked for ways to squeeze additional revenue out of travelers — from implementing fees for checked baggage to having passengers pay for the use of pillows and blankets.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said U.S. airlines’ first-quarter ancillary revenue dropped one percent from a year earlier on reduced reservation-change fees and a decline in miscellaneous revenue.
In April, Continental — which is planning a merger with UAL Corp.’s United Airlines — said its first-quarter loss widened by more than analysts had expected despite revenue gains as bad weather, higher fuel costs and slow economic improvement all hit its bottom line.