American Airlines is on quite the kick lately when it comes to positive news. Recently, it was announced that American will start serving Champagne Bollinger in Flagship Business and in Flagship Lounges, and now American has also announced updates to its coffee.
American will partner with Lavazza on coffee
American has announced a partnership with Lavazza, whereby we’ll see Lavazza coffee served both onboard flights and in lounges. For the first time, American will offer a consistent coffee experience both on the ground and in the air.
Beginning in early 2026, American will start serving Lavazza’s premium coffee blends across all cabins on flights, and in Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges. For those not familiar, here’s how Lavazza is described:
Lavazza, a family-owned Italian brand since 1895, is dedicated to crafting exceptional coffee experiences that reflect a legacy of expertise, passion and innovation. For the last 130 years, Lavazza has been at the forefront of coffee craftsmanship, blending time-honored Italian traditions with modern techniques to create premium coffees that are rich, balanced and universally admired. Today, its premium blends are served in top restaurants and hotels around the world, making it a natural fit for American’s elevated hospitality offering. By partnering with Lavazza, American is bringing a globally respected name in coffee to its customers — one that aligns with the airline’s focus on refined offerings and exceptional service throughout the journey.
Here’s how Heather Garboden, American Chief Customer Officer, describes this development:
“At American, we’re focused on looking at every aspect of the customer experience, and a quality cup of coffee is an important part of that journey. We’re proud to team up with this iconic brand to bring a rich, satisfying coffee experience to our customers — whether they’re in the air or relaxing in our lounges.”
For those keeping track of the competitive landscape, Delta serves Starbucks coffee, while United serves Illy coffee.
My take on American’s coffee upgrades
A good cup of coffee is something I’m passionate about, and I’m a big fan of Lavazza (at least as far as the major brands go). So if American was going to partner with a brand of coffee, I’d consider this to basically be the best case scenario. I’m similarly impressed by American partnering with Bollinger on champagne, as for my taste, it beats out United’s Laurent-Perrier and Delta’s Taittinger.
Ultimately the challenge is that the coffee served onboard is still airplane coffee, and there’s no denying that the taste of the coffee is impacted by the water used, the tanks, the impact of altitude on taste buds, etc.
Now, there’s another thing I find interesting. In the press release, American uses a picture of a beautiful barista made cappuccino… except American doesn’t actually serve barista coffee? My goodness, little in the world would delight me more than American serving barista coffee in at least some of its lounges, but I don’t see any mention of that?
I suppose American does have espresso and cappuccino onboard some aircraft, but they’re unlikely to look like that!
Bottom line
American Airlines will be exclusively partnering with Lavazza on coffee. As of early 2026, you can expect Lavazza coffee to be served onboard all flights, and also in Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges. Ultimately it’s hard to get too excited about drip coffee on an airplane. Regardless, I’m a fan of Lavazza, and am delighted by the general direction American is going in right now.
I must say, Heather Garboden might have the best job of any American executive, as she just delivers good news after good news… it’s not often that’s the case at American.
What do you make of American partnering with Lavazza?
