Delta Air Lines is dealing with a nationwide shortage of inflight fruit juice after a production failure at a Minute Maid supplier disrupted deliveries of orange, apple, cranberry, and tomato juice to the airline’s domestic fleet. Delta uses Minute Maid, a Coca-Cola brand headquartered in the airline’s home city of Atlanta, as its standard inflight juice supplier.
The shortage is limited to domestic flights, so travelers on Delta’s long-haul international routes should not notice a difference in the beverage selection. On affected domestic flights, availability now varies by route and cabin, with First Class passengers given priority when supplies are limited and coach passengers more likely to be told a particular juice is temporarily unavailable.
The same supplier disruption is rippling to at least one other carrier: JetBlue has started swapping individual juice cans for one-liter cartons to stretch its own supply while the shortage works through the system. Other Coca-Cola beverages, including sodas and Dasani water, remain fully stocked on Delta flights, since the disruption is specific to the juice production line rather than the broader Coca-Cola partnership.
Delta has not given a firm timeline for when normal juice service will resume across its domestic network. Travelers with a strong preference for a specific juice on a Delta flight this week may want to bring their own beverage through security, since crews are rationing what limited stock remains rather than guaranteeing full availability on every route.
Sources: Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Aviation A2Z
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