British Airways launches new champagnes in First Class, ends Grand Siècle

British Airways has announced a major overhaul of its First Class champagnes, introducing – as it announced on social media – ‘new champagnes from around the globe’.

(This is PR exaggeration. I did some digging into the new champagnes on offer and I can exclusively reveal that they are actually all from France …..)

If you’ve flown in British Airways First Class at any point over the last 12 years, you will have seen the distinctive shape of a Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle bottle.

Grand Siècle was the only genuinely premium drink that British Airways served. However deep the cost cutting, the airline knew that it had to serve a high quality champagne in First Class to retain any credibility.

Whilst many producers actively chase airline contracts as a way of getting their product (literally) into the hands of good quality prospects – and I suspect a lot of BA First Class passengers will have bought some Grand Siècle (I have a bottle at home) – Laurent-Perrier has now decided to move the product out of the travel market. The implication from BA is that no airlines will be serving it.

What new champagne is coming to British Airways First Class?

The replacements for Grand Siècle look promising.

The First Class champagnes will now rotate, with Lanson NOBLE 2005 on offer from 1st March. This is around £140 at retail.

Future options will include:

• Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne 2004 from July to September
• Bollinger Grande Année in October
• Lanson NOBLE Blanc de Blancs 2005 from November to December

If you are flying to New York JFK before December 2024, you will be able to try Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 which sells for around £170.

There will be a different product in the Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5. Initially this will be Pommery Cuvée Louise 2006. This is surprisingly expensive for a lounge champagne at around £200 per bottle – luckily (for BA) it is not self-pour in the Concorde Room.

All in all, this seems like a decent like for like swap by British Airways, and regular First Class flyers may appreciate the ability to try different products over the coming months.

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