When Pure Green was introduced to SAS (Scandinavian Airlines Systems) the Pure Green Company wished to offer something unique to the passengers of SAS, hence the idea of Air mixology was introduced.  For several years airline companies have been working on adapting the food and sometimes wines that are served in-flight to the special conditions in an air cabin at high altitude. Factors like air pressure and  low humidity affect how we perceive taste and smell. As these conditions divert from the conditions on ground, things that we eat and drink during flights will taste different from what we are used to. When updating the cocktail menu at SAS this was one of the things taken into account. Another important aspect was to increase the amount of organic offers on board. SAS has for many years been active to decrease the carbon footprint and to use organic products. SAS was one of the first airlines to launch the so called ”green” approaches which saves up to 200 kgs of fuel in comparison with a normal flight.

The new cocktail menu is developed together with the Swedish bartender Björn Kjellberg who has been awarded ”industry improver of the year” in 2011 “Bartenders Choice Award” and has a long experience from leading Swedish cocktail bars and bar education. The aim was to create cocktails that offered diversity to passengers and at the same time to use the air-mixology concept to enhance the flavors of the cocktails to raise customer satisfaction.

Scientific studies have found that it is our taste buds that perform differently in the dry air of the cabin and are also affected by the lower air pressure. In this environment the perception of sweetness is reduced with up to 20%. Other effects on the taste buds are that bitter and sour flavor and tannins are more tangible while spicy flavors are unaffected. Within the Air-mixology concept the balance of sweet and sour has to be changed without over sweetening the drinks to retain a still refreshing taste.

The implementation of Pure Green and Air-mixology on board SAS flights started during 2011 and will now be completed during the spring 2012. In business class Pure Green is served by the bottle and in economy class in 5 cl miniatures. The cocktail menu is limited to business class passangers.