Which Airlines Serve The Best Champagne?

For many people, champagne and premium cabin travel go hand in hand. If you’re embarking on a special holiday in style, there’s something special about hearing the cork of a bottle of champagne pop, and enjoying that first glass after boarding (or after takeoff, depending on a carrier’s policy).

In this post I wanted to provide an updated list of the airlines serving the world’s best champagne. I’ll cover the airlines serving the best champagne in first and business class in the air, and the airlines serving the best champagne in first class on the ground (there’s just too much variability when it comes to business class lounge champagne to make a useful list).

How I’m defining the “best” champagne

Like virtually anything you might eat or drink, “best” is highly subjective. So I’m taking a very simple approach here, and am ranking airlines’ champagne offerings based on the retail cost of the champagne they serve. Specifically, I’ll use the pricing from wine-searcher.com.

Let me emphasize that I’m not intending to suggest that something is better simply because it’s more expensive. It’s not.

However, there is generally a correlation between the quality of an airline product and the price of the champagne they’re serving, since it represents a significant investment (even at the discounted prices that airlines are paying). Case in point, Japan Airlines has expensive champagne in first class, while American Airlines doesn’t. 😉

Furthermore, any metric other than price is simply too subjective. Virtually all of these champagne options are highly rated, and reasonable people can disagree about which is slightly better.

I wanted to note a couple of major recent developments when it comes to the champagne served by airlines:

• Emirates has an exclusive agreement among airlines to serve Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Dom Perignon onboard; this has caused other airlines to cut these options
• Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle used to be a popular first class champagne, but Laurent Perrier seems to have had a change of strategy, and has presumably changed the pricing of its champagne, as many airlines have cut it

Airlines with most expensive first class champagne (inflight)

Which of the world’s top first class airlines serve the best champagne onboard flights? Here’s the list I’ve put together, though please let me know if I’m missing anything:

1. Japan Airlines serves Salon 2013 (~$1,100/bottle) for flights from Japan and Billecart Salmon Cuvee Louis Salmon 2009 (~$220/bottle) for flights to Japan in first class
2. Qatar Airways serves Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Gold Brut (~$320/bottle) in first class
3. Air France serves Piper Heidsieck 2013 Rare Champagne (~$260/bottle); Air France regularly rotates its champagne selection
4. Singapore Airlines serves Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2012 (~$220/bottle), Krug Grand Cuvee Brut (~$200/bottle), and Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 2007 (~$200/bottle)
5. Emirates serves Dom Perignon 2013 (~$230/bottle) in first class
6. All Nippon Airways serves Krug Grand Cuvee Brut (~$200/bottle) in first class
7. Cathay Pacific serves Krug Grand Cuvee Brut (~$200/bottle) in first class
8. Lufthansa serves Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Brut (~$110/bottle) in first class; Lufthansa regularly rotates its champagne selection
9. SWISS serves Pommery Cuvee Louise Millesime 2006 (~$180/bottle) in first class; SWISS regularly rotates its champagne selection
10. British Airways serves Lanson Noble Brut 2005 (~$100/bottle) in first class on most routes, and Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 (~$240/bottle) in first class between London and New York

As you can see, there are lots of great options here. Japan Airlines is in a league of its own in terms of serving a champagne that retails for over $1,000 per bottle. The catch is that Japan Airlines typically loads a single bottle of this champagne per flight, and then there’s a backup champagne.

So for some it will be a real gimmick, and you won’t even get a full glass. However, on some flights you’ll find that no one else drinks champagne, and you get the whole bottle to yourself (as I experienced on a recent flight).

I also think Singapore Airlines is worth calling out, as it’s the only airline that serves three great champagne options on every flight in first class. Talk about a nice choice to have!

Airlines with most expensive first class champagne (lounges)

I thought it would also be interesting to cover some of the best champagne that you’ll find in the world’s top first class airline lounges. I think it’s noteworthy that a lot of the world’s best first class airlines serve phenomenal champagne in the air, but only mediocre champagne on the ground.

To me that seems pretty backwards. Ultimately great wine (including champagne) can best be enjoyed on the ground, where your taste buds are most able to appreciate taste. Furthermore, many people may prefer to enjoy a nice glass of champagne on the ground and maximize rest in the air.

Take Emirates, for example — in Emirates first class you can enjoy Dom Perignon, while in the Emirates first class lounge you can enjoy Moët, which retails for “just” ~$50/bottle.

What explains this disconnect? I imagine it’s partly a matter of controlling costs. I suppose it also comes down to some airlines letting select elite members into lounges, rather than just first class passengers, so it’s potentially a lot more passengers.

Therefore I think it’s worth highlighting the airlines that invest in good champagne on the ground, because it’s largely a different list than you’ll find in the air. Furthermore, we’ve seen several airlines cut their first class lounge champagne offerings recently. Here’s the list I’ve put together, though please let me know if I’m missing anything remarkable:

1. Singapore Airlines serves Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2008 (~$240/bottle) in The Private Room Singapore
2. British Airways serves Pommery Cuvee Louise 2006 (~$180/bottle) in the Concorde Room London Heathrow
3. Air France serves Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2006 (~$150/bottle) in the La Premiere Lounge Paris
4. American Airlines & British Airways serve an impressive rotating selection of champagne in the Chelsea Lounge New York

I think two lounge deserve a special shoutout here:

• British Airways has long invested in great lounge champagne, in a way that very few airlines do, which is impressive
• Perhaps the most luxurious part of the American Airlines experience is some of the champagne in the Chelsea Lounge, so it’s a highlight of the experience

Airlines with most expensive business class champagne (inflight)

While you’ll definitely find the best champagne in first class, you’ll also find some pretty good champagne on the world’s top business class airlines. Before I share my list, let me note a couple of things:

• I’m keeping this list to airlines offering champagne that costs more than $50 per bottle in business class (which isn’t to say that champagne over $50 is good, and champagne under $50 is bad, but I have to draw the line somewhere); that excludes what you’ll see offered on many airlines, like Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve, Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut, Laurent-Perrier Brut, etc.
• I’d appreciate reader feedback here, as there are hundreds of airlines with business class and product offerings are constantly changing, so please let me know if I’m missing anything that meets the above criteria, or that you find to be particularly exceptional

So what airlines serve the best champagne onboard flights in business class?

1. Starlux serves Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee (~$85/bottle) in business class
2. EVA Air serves Duval-Leroy Clos Des Bouveries 2006 (~$70/bottle) in business class
3. Emirates serves Veuve Clicquot Brut (~$65/bottle) in business class
4. Qatar Airways serves Duval-Leroy Rose Prestige (~$90/bottle) and Laurent-Perrier Brut (~$50/bottle)

As you can tell, Qatar Airways is consistently excellent for offering both a white and rose champagne, with the rose being pricer than the white champagne. Meanwhile two of Taiwan’s carriers deserve credit for having an excellent champagne option as well. It’s possible I’m missing some great champagne options in business class, so if I am, please let me know!

Bottom line

For many premium cabin airline enthusiasts, a great drink selection is part of the overall experience. The above are the airlines serving the most expensive champagne in first class and business class.

Let me once again emphasize that the most expensive doesn’t necessarily mean the best, as taste is highly subjective. I don’t claim to be a sommelier or wine expert, though I certainly do have my preferences. And I know many are also curious about what they can expect to be served onboard, so hopefully the above is a useful rundown.

Let me also note that airlines sometimes switch around their selections and vintages, so if I missed any options or airlines made changes that I didn’t get right, please let me know.

What’s your favorite champagne served by any airline?