American Airlines to Offer Beano
Factories run full time to meet critical aviation need
Flight attendants on American Airlines will no longer just offer passengers a choice of beverage as they move through the cabin. Beginning this week, American will also provide passengers with the anti-gas product Beano.
The move is, of course, in response to last week’s incident in which an American flight was diverted to Nashville because of a passenger’s gas problem. Or, more properly, a passenger’s match-lighting-to-mask-gas problem, a distinction Airport Authority spokeswoman Lynne Lowrance is careful to make.
“If she had just tooted away, there would have been no problem from an aviation point of view. But when she started striking matches to mask the smell, that violated the rules,” Lowrance says.
Beano’s manufacturer, AkPharma Inc., says it saw a surge in sales at airports all over the country following the plane-diverting incident.
“We have all our Beano factories running at full capacity to meet the new demand,” says spokeswoman Melissa Connelly. “Our new contract with American Airlines will introduce new consumers to Beano, and we think this will contribute to the travel experience of the public.”
The company is even considering purchasing the naming rights to LP Field, potentially meaning the Titans could play their home games next year at Beano Field.
“This Nashville experience has allowed us to take Beano to a whole new level, and we’d like to pay the city back for that,” Connelly says.
Vendors at Nashville International Airport have had a rise in Beano demand since the flatulence-related diversion, but also report a surge in matchbook sales.
“We couldn’t figure that out at first,” Lowrance says, “but all the news coverage pointed out that it was OK under FAA rules to bring four packs of matches into the passenger cabin, and a lot of people didn’t know that. Now they do, and they’re doing it.”
One Chicago-bound passenger who was stocking up on matches confirmed Lowrance’s theory: “I can’t take a normal-sized bottle of shampoo or mouthwash, but I can carry a fistful of matches, and I’m going to.”
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